Mass Effect 4: After The Fall
by TheLastSpectre
Summary: The Reaper War is finally over. Five years have passed since Commander Shepard was declared K.I.A. after destroying the sentient machines, and the galaxy continues to spin on. But strange events have caused the Citadel Council to form a team to investigate the place where she disappeared. And what they discover may change the galaxy forever...
1. Chapter 1: History

_"Times change."_

_"Well, what about Shepard? She grew up in the colonies."_

The noise from the recording bounced around the enclosed space of the personal cabin before fading into the ducts. Alone, a man sat listening, silent in his concentration.

_"She knows how tough life can be out there. Her parents were killed when slavers attacked Mindoir."_

He lifted his hand to check relevant data on a pad he'd acquired recently, for the mission. His eyes did not flick back to the recording, nor did they move over the screen.

_"She proved herself during the Blitz. Held off enemy forces until reinforcements arrived."_

Visible knuckles grew white with the strength the hand used to clutch the pad, either in desperation...or anger.

_"She's the only reason Elysium is still standing."_

_"We can't question her courage..."_

_"Humanity _needs_ a hero. And Shepard's the best we've got."_

The screen broke from pressure as the final words left the recording:

_"I'll make the call."_

The man sat in his seat for some time, staring off into space. Eventually, he reached under his desk and produced a small disk. His omni-tool expanded, and he slid it in.

_"Shepard did everything right. More than we could have hoped for."_

This time, his feelings were tempered somewhat by curiosity. He didn't recognize the woman or the conversation from any official records.

_"Saving the Citadel, even saving the Council. Humanity has the trust of the entire galaxy. And still it's not enough."_

He began to wonder if perhaps it was some unaired tabloid report, but something about it felt...off. As though he was intruding. Eavesdropping.

_"Our sacrifices have earned the Council's gratitude. But Shepard remains our best hope."_

Not that any of this was news to him...

_"But they're sending her to fight geth. _Geth_. We both know they're not the real threat."_

This caught his attention. The recording must have been made sometime shortly after the Battle of the Citadel, so why did it sound as though...

_"The Reapers are still out there."_

Then his omni-tool held his full and undivided attention.

_"And it's up to us to stop them."_

_"The Council will never trust Cerberus. They'll never accept our help, even after everything humanity has accomplished."_

'Cerberus'. He mouthed. His mind reeled. When he'd asked for 'all relevant files', he'd never expected this. And he suspected that he knew where this was going.

_"But Shepard...they'll follow her. She's a hero, a bloody icon. But she's just one woman. If we lose Shepard, humanity might well follow."_

There was a pause. The man in the recording sounded as though he was already calculating exactly how he would craft the events over the two years that would come after. As though he might have already known about Lazarus, decided on that course.

_"Then see to it that we don't lose her."_

The recording stopped, much like the last one. No ceremony, just silence. He held up one last disk. His scans had told him that it held more than the other two. A longer conversation. But he was hesitant. Would this be more Cerberus meddling?

He considered putting it away. But there was a mission to worry about, now. He needed whatever he could get. He couldn't turn back.

_The sound of a door opening. "Ah, Admiral Anderson. Good, good."_

_"You wanted to see me, Chairman?"_

_"Yes...yes I did. Have a seat." A chair being pulled, then a soft grunt from the second man, Anderson. "You see, I wanted to speak to you personally because of your...position."_

_"My position? About what?"_

_"The committee is torn asunder trying to decide this, and I think you're the man to talk to. You see, you've made your position very clear, but at the same time, I know you for a rational sort."_

_"Then this is about Shepard."_

_"Indeed."_

_"I'm not sure what I can add to the committee's decision, Chairman. As you said, my position has been made clear."_

_"I wanted to question you about your reasoning. I'd like to think I know both sides of an argument before making a decision."_

_"And yet you cast a vote for Shepard to be court-martialed and turned over to the Hegemony."_

_"In any other case, we would have made a unanimous decision. But as has been made clear, the 'first human Spectre' is allowed certain...additional time and consideration."_

_"What were your questions?"_

_"I merely want to know why you place so much trust in Shepard, in spite of everything she's done."_

_"'Everything she's done' includes more good than harm, Chairman. You know that."_

_"Do I? Does anything justify the deaths of so many, the detonation of a Mass Relay of all things?"_

_"Her record speaks for itself. I may not know the circumstances, but I trust Shepard to have made the right decision with what she had."_

_"The right decision? Like detonating a nuclear device on a planet, killing one of her own crew, an Alliance Gunnery Chief?"_

_"To destroy a krogan breeding ground operated by Saren. Yes. The cost was high, and I'm certain that no one regrets Williams' death as much as Shepard does."_

_"Williams?"_

_"Yes, Chairman." Anderson's voice took on an icy tone. "The 'Alliance Gunnery Chief' had a name. Not just a number."_

_"Hmm, yes. She does have a penchant for destruction. Shepard. Virmire may yet be the smallest example. I'm sure that I am not the only one who recalls the Citadel? When so many Alliance lives were lost because of her decision?"_

_"To save the Council and destroy Sovereign, giving us a seat and keeping us from being systematically destroyed?"_

_"Noveria, when she killed an asari matriarch and released the Rachni upon the galaxy again?"_

_"Eliminating Saren's lieutenant and reversing genocide in the process?"_

_"Escaping impoundment and illegally pursuing a rogue Spectre to Ilos!"_

_"That-"_

_"An act which, I might add, you were accomplice to!"_

_"Why did you call me here, Chairman? To soothe your ego? It's clear that you're determined to see the worst in her actions."_

_"And _you_ are determined to let your personal stake in this blind you to the dangers this woman represents! Her arrival only worsened her case! Piloting a _Cerberus_ ship? Becoming involved in our disappearing colonies?"_

_"Trying to save them from the Collectors!"_

_"Admiral, I admit that this rattles me as much as it does you. But you have to face the facts, here. Shepard is-"_

_"Shepard is a hero. Something a lot of people seem to be forgetting lately. I won't argue this anymore with you."_

The man in the chair was already engrossed in an old news article from just before Earth had been attacked. Reports indicated that the SR-2 had landed on a faraway outpost to let some of its crew loose before returning to Alliance space. According to the reports in question, as well as some top secret anonymous verification, a great majority of the crew had been kept alive.

_Shepard did everything right..._

Well, he thought, he couldn't argue with her results, at least. But he still had to wonder. Why this file? Did that week's crisis have something to do with Shepard? Perhaps no one knew. But either way, he was determined to go in prepared.

* * *

Five years ago, an ancient race of sentient machines known as the Reapers launched an attack on Earth and several other planets in Council space as part of a 'Cycle' repeated once every 50,000 years to cleanse all organic life from the Milky Way.

_She gripped the weapon tightly, like a lifeline. Each step sent waves of fire up her body. Her vision tinged with red._

Racing against time, an elite strike force lead by Commander Jane Shepard, first human Spectre, enlisted allies across the galaxy to react against the threat. An ancient Prothean device known as the Crucible would be their key to victory.

_She needed to keep going. They couldn't have much time left. It twisted and slowed and quickened around her, rendering it impossible to tell how long she had been walking. There was only footstep after footstep._

Together with the fleets of the Turians, Krogan, Quarians, Geth, and many other sentient races, the Alliance military launched a counterattack against the Reapers, centering on planet Earth.

_She raised the pistol. The shots moved her arm, but she could hear nothing. Fire scorched her body, but she could not feel the pain. Only step after step mattered. A final end to all of this._

Though the combined might of the multi-racial fleet was formidable, it was not enough. All seemed lost when Commander Shepard made the decision to board the Citadel, which had connected with the Crucible to form a superweapon that could turn the tide, personally.

_Images flashed through her mind as the debris fell around her. A pilot, a friend, tipping his hat in respect. A Captain, a mentor, turning to hide a smile. A turian, a lover, looking on at the shattered worlds left in their wake. Mementos. Reminders of what she fought for. What she would die for._

The Crucible generated a massive blast of energy that raced through every connected Mass Relay in the galaxy, destroying the sentient machines and bringing an end to the war. Commander Shepard was declared Killed In Action, but no one in the galaxy knows what truly happened to her.

_As she fell, she knew only vaguely that she had succeeded. The station erupted around her and, unbidden, a final thought traced its way across her mind, laced with her touches of irony. A message that no one would hear, but the Reapers would receive._

_"You cannot resist."_

But not all secrets remain buried.

* * *

**Mass Effect 4**

**After The Fall**


	2. Chapter 2: Recruiting

_"I'm looking for a couple of idiots willing to follow me into certain death."_

_"...We're in."_

The frigate was settled, perched like a white bird of prey atop a tree. Unseen to most of the observers and passengers alike, an encrypted signal had been sent only minutes before the magnetic grips attached to the side, keeping the ship firmly in place. Enhanced by the lights of the bay aside it, the emblem of the Normandy SR-3 flaunted itself proudly. Within, its pilot adjusted himself into a more comfortable position on his seat.

And then waited.

It felt to Joker as though he was doing quite a bit of waiting lately, at the very least more than he spent flying. Or doing something of importance. Not that he was bitter. He merely wished that someone had informed him that his infiltration vessel was going to be used as a cargo cruiser. He might have gotten more sleep. While he adored the design improvements present in the newest iteration of the Normandy, what Alliance Command's orders constituted was, in his opinion, a waste of its potential.

Any idiot could go to planet X, find shipment B, and carry it to point O. A pilot like himself did not qualify as 'any idiot'. If anything, he was a 'special idiot'. Obviously though, the Councilor who had commissioned its upgrade had no idea in regards to the Normandy's mission specifics. Try as he might, he couldn't figure out who might have put so little thought into it. His best guess was the Salarian Councillor - she didn't seem to care about much aside from how little she could pay for something. Wrex was right out, on the opposite side. He knew exactly what the Normandy was about.

Not for the first time, it struck Joker as simply how very odd it was to think of the Krogan as a Council race. There was no question Wrex and his people had earned it - as if their contributions during The War weren't enough, they had done a more than admirable job as intergalactic police while the Turians and Humans were rrebuilding their fleets - but they weren't two things one often associated. That Joker could still remember a time when Krogan had just been barbaric cannon fodder only made him feel old.

Another sign of the changing of the times was his dual payroll. While the Normandy was still technically an Alliance vessel, the program itself was funded directly by the Council, meaning that occasionally he would be called in to perform services of 'galactic importance'. Usually that was fancy speak for 'chauffeur'. It made sense - even with the recent technology boom, the SR-3 was still the most advanced stealth vehicle in existence, making it perfect for depositing Councilors unseen - but much like the Alliance's pickup jobs, it made Joker feel like his skills were of minimal importance compared to his good name and 'ability to restrict oneself from divulging secrets of Council or Alliance affairs'. Also known as keeping his mouth shut. _That_ was guaranteed to make him smile. It was like the bigshots had never even met him. And, in point of fact, most of them hadn't.

"Jeff, the Council has sent a response to our status update." EDI's calm voice rang from her seat to his right, bringing an end to his moment of contemplation.. Joker raised an eyebrow and checked his logs.

"Not seeing any response signals, EDI." He tapped the screen multiple times to refresh them, but still nothing appeared. "Did you see it before it hit us?"

"Perhaps I should have clarified. They sent a _physical_ response."

From behind him, Joker heard a few hard raps on the port airlock. Someone wanted in.

"Well, throw open the welcome mat, let's see."

He heard a hissing sound as the door opened and adjusted a few controls before turning around. He almost fell out of his seat. Standing behind him, hands behind his back, blue armor glinting in the light, was a familiar face.

"Kaidan?!"

"Hello Joker." The Spectre nodded. "Nice to see you again."

"Been a while coming! You've been deployed what, seven months and no word?"

"Something like that. Good to know the ship's still standing. Keeping out of trouble, EDI?" He nodded to the android on the co-pilot's seat.

"Not if Jeff can help it." She replied dryly.

"Sheesh, you navigate through a minefield _one time_…" Joker muttered.

"Sounds like we've got some stories to trade." Kaidan said. "But we can talk on the way. Can you get us to the Trebia System?"

"Trebia? Sure. You got some kind of mission on Palaven?"

"Something like that."

"Damn, you sure got noncommittal. Setting a course, but you're gonna have to tell us what for at some point."

"Visiting an old friend."

Joker's eyebrows went up into his hat and he turned around. "How old?"

"The oldest."

* * *

Garrus didn't sleep well. That was normal. He'd come to expect it. Too many faces staring back in the mirror, so to speak. He couldn't exactly remember what his dream was about this time, but he remembered that Shepard was in it.

Shepard…

He got up from his bed (such as it was) and walked over to a mirror hung on the wall, glaring at the face that appeared. Beaten, weathered, sorrowful. And it showed him a truth he couldn't admit to himself or his men. His nearly joyless existence, going on five long years of barely managing to keep himself standing, taking only the barest of pleasures in life. Trying to keep on the mask was…not becoming any easier with the passage of time.

In that instant, he would have cried, if he could. The pure emotion he was experiencing was overwhelming. Not that it was particularly unusual. This happened almost every time he thought about…

His moment of sadness turned almost instantly into anger. He wanted to shoot something, kick something, anything. But he had to maintain his composure. Even there. Where no one could see him. Especially there.

A small beep sounded from his desk where he housed his communications unit and shrine. 'Shrine' may have sounded strange aloud, but that was what it was. A memory placed with respect and care. The beeping noise rang out again, but Garrus paid it no mind. He was always single-minded when he came over here, he always had to look, no matter how masochistic it seemed, or felt.

And it always hurt, he reflected as he gazed at the picture.

It was of her, that day on the Citadel. Rifle in one hand, drink in the other, a smile lighting up her features. Vehicles rushing past below, a beautiful view of the Presidium grounds, and a nice range for shooting bottles.

His favorite place on the Citadel.

Slowly, he sat down, picking up the picture gingerly, as though it might crack in his hand.

"Shepard, why…there was so much we…that I…" He murmured aloud. He could never force out the words. It was almost a ritual, his coming over here, staring at the picture, reflecting. Today felt no worse than the hundreds of other times he'd done this exact thing. But without whatever that annoying sound wa-

He cursed and put the picture back, flipping on the comm switch.

"Yes?" He threw around some more (imaginative) curses inside his head; his voice was still tinged with emotion.

"Admiral, your presence is requested on the bridge. There is a vessel requesting to dock with the _Victorious_." He recognized that voice. One of the new communications lieutenants, Renar.

"Alright. I'll be up in a minute." There was a pause.

"…Did I wake you, sir?" Normally, a turian admiral might've gone down and given Renar a tongue-lashing, but Garrus didn't mind. In fact, his ship had garnered quite the reputation for its informal crew. Some others had jokingly called it 'The penitentiary for inexperienced hooligans'. He readily accepted that reputation, because damned if it didn't work. Five Terminus engagements since it was commissioned and not a scratch on it. He found he worked well with the crew in general. After all, he was hardly an 'average' turian himself when it came to formalities.

In fact, the _Victorious_ found itself a part of the most presently important part of the modern turian military. Patrols needed to be maintained in a wide range for areas for the safety of Council space. The Krogan had done a fair job by themselves, but it was a point of pride for the Hierarchy to spare _something_ in order to launch 'defensive offenses'. That was the main reason for Garrus' promotion; he was one of the few combatants left after the war with any particularly vast experience. Aside from that, they'd needed a competent leader who had proven himself several times over, and as he had made the mistake of never officially leaving the military...

Not that he could have left his ship anyway. Certain attachments had grown between himself and his crew, and he trusted each one as much as he did himself (granted, he barely trusted himself, but he _did_ trust his crew quite a bit nevertheless). Even if they _were_ hooligans.

"Technically? No. But tell forward to bring up anything I might miss. I'm…not fully alert just yet."

"Yes sir." Click.

The elevator door hissed softly as it opened, giving Garrus a good view as always of the CIC and assorted bustling crewmembers. It wasn't a combat situation, so there was no sign of overt excitement, but jobs still needed to be done, and on the whole they were done well. He glanced towards the LADAR system briefly as he passed by the detection stations. It was partially obscured by the standing and saluting crewmembers, but he gathered that there was only one small vessel approaching the capital ship - about the size of a frigate, if he estimated correctly.

"Status?" He asked Renar, motioning him to fall in step towards the port view.

"It just came out of the Mass Relay, Admiral. It sent out an Alliance hailing frequency and began moving towards us. If you want, we could just let them smash against the doors." Renar handed him a data pad with the relevant information. He scrolled past the bit about hailing frequencies and looked at the message itself. Standard request to dock, no telling if it was even anything but an automated call.

"No, that would scratch the paint." Renar knew as well as anyone how Garrus felt about the paint. "Send a detail to the docking bay, make sure it's secure."

"Admiral Vakarian!" Garrus suppressed a wince when the secondary communications officer called him. He still wasn't quite used to his rank, proud though it made him. Well, mostly his father, but he couldn't help feeling proud of it himself. A long way to this from a C-Sec officer, he thought wryly. "They're sending another hail. An actual message this time, I think."

"Patch me in." He replied, tapping the comm unit on his omni-tool. He was at the window now, peering down at the frigate, when the light of the nearby sun flashed off the side of it, revealing the designation 'SR-3', and he nearly jumped in shock.

"Hey there, you guys miss us?" That voice over the radio might as well have been a hug from a friend, for all the relief it gave him. And for all intents and purposes, it was.

"Joker!" He said, some of his enthusiasm showing through in his voice, not that he much cared about his image at the moment. "You should've called in advance, I didn't have time to set up a parade."

"Doubt I'd be able to see it past your shiny hull lights anyway. You wanna open that door for us? I don't mind dodging, but c'mon, having to duck under a friendly is just embarrassing."

"Double time it on the dock," He told Renar. "And forget the detail. I'm going down personally."

* * *

The Normandy was just as he remembered the old model. Even through a view-port, the splendor wasn't diminished. He had about ten seconds for sightseeing by the time he actually reached the docking area, but he took in as much as he could all the same.

He could still make out the Thanix Cannon on the belly of the vessel (he wondered wryly whether it was calibrated correctly), the dull light cast off the heavy plating, and the thrusters connected to the stealth drive, that miracle of technology. Perhaps he was more attuned to the design because it was partly turian, but he suspected that after so long aboard, he simply recognized and admired its capabilities. That enormous gun didn't hurt anything.

"Admiral."

He turned at yet another familiar voice and was surprised to see Kaidan standing at attention, hand raised in a salute and a small smile playing on his features.

"Kaidan, didn't think I'd be seeing you again anytime soon. How many of the old crew do you all have hiding in there?"

"Me, Joker, Chakwas, Adams...more than you'd think. We set up the crew specifically, it's part of why I'm here. The, ah, Council wanted me to drop by because of history. Coming from anyone else this request would be…strange."

"Request? What are you talking about? You mean you didn't drop by just to see me? I'm hurt, Kaidan, I really am." He said jokingly.

"Well you know how it is. No forward warnings thanks to security."

"Security?" Garrus went through a list of things the council would bring up that both made him necessary and were so important that they didn't dare risk an FTL link. The list was short, and he didn't enjoy the thought of anything on it. "Must be classified."

"Very classified. This isn't just a surprise inspection, Garrus, I'm here to put you back on the team."

That gave him pause. He'd expected that, but it was still a surprise. And out of the blue.

"Well, damn. Anyone else on the list?" His mind leaped instantly to Tali.

"Yeah, but this was the first stop. I'll brief you later on the details." Always waiting for group meetings to save time. Garrus sighed internally. Just like the council.

"No ideas what for, I suppose?"

"None. They say jump…" He shrugged.

"Yeah, I remember how it is." Garrus nodded understandingly. "They're going to be pretty disappointed if they're just handing out a new standard set of orders, though. I can't just leave my ship for something like that."

"I told them that. They authorized me to drop the bomb on you, though, so to speak. Apparently it's an emergency."

Again, Kaidan's tone gave him pause. This was clearly leading up to something big. He couldn't imagine what, though.

"Bomb? You're starting to worry me, Kaidan. What is it this time? Pirate raid? Cerberus?"

"Not exactly. Garrus…"

It was really very amazing, he would reflect later, how simple sentences can shatter a person's world.

"I'm pretty sure this is something to do with Shepard."

To this, there could be only one logical response.

"…Shit."

* * *

The lake was beautiful in the morning. The waves curled majestically as the tides pulled them in, sand turning a darker brown as they absorbed the water, the calmer center turning a deeper blue every minute as the sun rose.

She inhaled deeply, savoring the salty fragrance in the air. She found she enjoyed this simple act, once denied her by simple internal weaknesses, now made possible by technology.

She sneezed. Well, and plenty of exposure, and additives. Ah, but it was a wonderful day nonetheless. Broken all too soon by certain...interruptions.

"Creator Tali'Zorah?" Some of which being more tolerable than others.

She turned and glanced upward from her sitting position, breaking into a soft smile at the sight of her friend.

"Yes, Jeddah, what can I do for you?"

The geth platform bent its knees forward so as to lower itself closer to her sitting height. It wasn't necessary for better communication at this distance, but she appreciated the gesture all the same.

"You have a message."

"A message? From who? Because I asked Rann about the new programs, and she said I-"

"From an Alliance Frigate. The Normandy SR-3."

That got her attention. "Keelah. Can you patch it through?"

"Affirmative. Processing." There was a near-inaudible static buzzing in the air for a moment as the geth activated its audio-recording processors.

"Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch, this is Major Alenko with Council Special Tactics and Reconnaissance requesting your presence aboard at your earliest convenience. We will be docking at the provided coordinates shortly." There was a click as the message ended, but far from feeling excited (which she really should have been, given that it was Kaidan), Tali felt simply disappointed.

"That's it?" She sighed. "Remind me to hit him with something blunt when I get up there."

"That could cause severe trauma depending on what is used to…ah. A joke. I am amused." Tali chuckled. She knew that the geth could technically feel and understand emotions, but Jeddah's deadpan delivery of 'I am amused' could always be counted on to cheer her up on its own. She sometimes wondered if that was intentional.

"What's the location?" She asked.

"Reegar interplanetary docking station two miles south of our current location."

"Right. I'll go and-" She stopped and looked at the geth incredulously. "Did…did you just round up?"

"Affirmative." Jeddah replied with what she could barely tell were traces of pride emanating from its communication module and out of the vocal synthesizer.

"Impressive." She said honestly, checking her omni-tool against the constant flow of data between her and her companion. "You've been upgrading your abstraction matrices manually?"

"Yes. However, analogies and metaphors continue to be a slight problem."

"You mean like those poems you downloaded last week?"

"Yes." Jeddah replied, sounding puzzled. "An eastern Hedrich orchid blossom bears no physical or chemical resemblance to a supernova event."

"Well, they're not supposed to be accurate so much as…evocative. And in all honesty, it generally takes a while to make the right connections, generous amounts of neural pathways or no."

"I did not mean to suggest that I was displeased with my progress, Creator Tali'Zorah. 'All good things in time'."

She chuckled again. "Well quoted. But we should probably go see what all this is about. If I know Kaidan, he isn't here to just say 'hello'. And an excuse to see the Normandy shouldn't be wasted."

"Acknowledged. Do you require an escort?"

She didn't, but given that it was Jeddah, she nodded, standing up and giving one last fleeting look towards the water.

It really was beautiful in the morning.

* * *

The elevator door closed with almost complete silence, aside from the brief click of the lock inside engaging. Tali felt the small room begin to slide upwards to the C.I.C. The Normandy hadn't used a docking port, choosing instead to land directly onto a pad at the Reegar docking station. An airlock passage had been added to the docking bay entrance so that she could simply walk in.

It really wasn't so much an airlock as it was an airtight hallway. It didn't have atmospheric regulators, but she'd had to don her suit anyways, so it wasn't an issue. Well, she thought ruefully as she felt an itch on her skin she couldn't reach past the suit, not _much_ of an issue.

"I hope actually has measurable speed, or I'll have to hack the system." She joked to Jeddah. In a testament to inter-species relations in the current galaxy, none of the crewmen had even made passing mention of having the geth onboard, and in fact treated them both amicably in between their duties. Hopefully she had more than acquaintance to thank for that. She trusted that Ambassador Col'Nah was doing his job, but she _did_ notice quite a few faces from the SR-2 Mk II among the crowd. She wondered if a crowd of strangers would have the same reactions. Or if she wasn't personally involved at all. Quite a few less people tended to mind what you did if you were a Quarian Admiral as well as a Reaper War veteran.

"Are you referring to the inefficient cabling system present in the original Normandy SR-1 vessel that you served aboard?" Jeddah asked.

She laughed. "'Inefficient' is putting it lightly. It took a solar year to go up or down one level." To her satisfaction, however, no sooner had she said this than the door opened again, revealing the wide open Combat Information Center and assorted computers, crew, and of course the galaxy map. She found herself idly humming a tune as she passed it, turning right into the Briefing Room. Once again, she saw familiar faces working along the row of consoles, and even a glimpse of Traynor manning the secure communication center.

Two doors and two saluting crewmen later, pleasant nostalgia hit her in full force. With Garrus, Kaidan, and EDI all there, it almost felt like old times. Though, she did spot a human Alliance marine she didn't recognize with short black hair and a discerning eye scanning the holographic briefing table when she walked in.

All of them looked at her and Jeddah when they entered. Garrus relaxed visibly, the marine smiled a bit, Kaidan saluted, and EDI nodded politely.

"Admiral, welcome to the Normandy. Again." Kaidan said, a hint of a smile forming on his face. He nodded to the marine behind him, answering her question before she had a chance to ask it. "I don't think you've met Colonel Davisson yet."

She joined the group at the table and shook hands with Davisson formally, noting privately his N7 insignia. To her, this meant three things: He was most certainly a genuine asset, whatever Kaidan had brought him in for must then be serious, and would now be compared directly to Shepard by probably all of them. And now she pitied him a bit.

"Pleased to meet you, Colonel." She said, trying to not let the sudden sadness she felt at the thought reach her voice. It got no easier when she looked at Garrus. He looked normal, but his eyes were dark, haunted, and fixed on Davisson. A quick glance at his hands proved her suspicions correct. They were gripping the table with what looked like enough force to tear a bulkhead.

"Pleasure's all mine, ma'am." Davisson replied. His grip was firm, but he was surprisingly friendly. But...something about him made her feel as though he wasn't entirely genuine. Like he was on autopilot, his mind on something else.

Her thought track was broken when she noticed that they were all now looking at her companion.

"Oh, right. Everyone, this is Jeddah." She realized rather suddenly that just five years ago, all of them would've been shooting at the platform. Including her. Her brain all but gave up on trying to comprehend that one almost immediately.

"And you'll be joining us?" Kaidan asked Jeddah directly, much to her (pleasant) surprise.

"Affirmative. I accompany Creator Tali'Zorah on any interplanetary and extra-planetary expeditions, this being no exception mainly due to lack of data." Tali looked at Kaidan and nodded, her concerns having been voiced. Leave it to Jeddah to find a completely innocent, roundabout, and effective way of asking 'why exactly are we here, anyway?'.

"Good." Kaidan said, tapping a few controls on his omni-tool. "I was hoping Tali would at least be able to help with this, but having a geth platform will make it easier."

"Make _what_ easier?" Garrus interjected. His voice sounded unusually hard and rough. To Tali, at least.

"I suppose since we're all here now is as good a time as any to tell you-"

"Wait, just us?" Garrus cut him off. "I expected there to be more of us here for something like this. Liara and Wrex, at least."

"Wrex is dealing with council business. For all intents and purposes, I'm his eyes and ears here."

"And it is highly probable that Dr. T'Soni is keeping a close eye on these events, even if she is not present." EDI added.

Kaidan didn't answer. He didn't deny it, either. Tali wondered if it irked him to think that Liara was better at cloak and dagger than he was, as a Spectre. Instead, he extended his left arm, and his omni-tool emitted a very strange low tone. It sounded oddly familiar to Tali, but apparently not to anyone else.

"What the hell was that?" Garrus asked.

"Unrecognized data stream. Processing." Jeddah said.

"That noise…it almost sounded like…" Tali began.

"That transmission was very similar to a previous one recorded during a mission regarding the Collectors." EDI confirmed her suspicions.

Garrus spoke next, shocked. "Reaper code. Where did you _get_ that?"

"It was transmitted directly to the private council FTL database two days ago. They ran a trace, and as best they could tell, the transmission literally came from nowhere; a section of the Citadel we had no idea even existed." Kaidan looked at Jeddah. "Can you make any sense of it?"

"Process complete. Cross-referencing previous Reaper conversations revealed little. It appears to be an amalgam of binary, reaper code, and various untranslated alien languages."

Tali sighed. "So we have no idea."

"Negative. It says 'Cage Free Death Hold Escape Resist'. Notification: The language itself is erratic and incoherent, and thus synonyms or homonyms may be existent."

There was silence.

"Well that sounds like rainbows and sunshine." Davisson muttered grimly.

"Just to be sure, are we going up against an actual Reaper?" Garrus asked. "Because if we are, we're going to need a bigger cannon. And a fleet. Or, ah, six."

"I don't know." Kaidan admitted. "But that's what we need to find out."

Davisson grimaced. "Sir, if we're going in blind with 'Reaper' as the worst possible threat, I'm going to need more pre-mission time to compose my epitaph."

"That is unlikely." EDI assured him. "The Crucible destroyed all of the Reapers in the galaxy. None remain."

"And if it _is_ a Reaper, you don't have to worry about an epitaph. There won't be enough left of any of us to bury." Garrus said viciously to Davisson, whose gaze and face immediately fell.

There was more silence, another pause.

"Sorry." Garrus muttered.

"So am I." Davisson replied, earning him a calculating look from the turian.

"What are we even expecting to find?" Tali asked, mostly to break the tension. "Rubble?"

"In the second-worst case scenario, giant space bears." EDI said. The sheer absurdity of the statement somehow managed to remove the tension in the room. Davisson snickered involuntarily, and even Garrus looked somewhat mollified by the joke.

"Ah…barring giant space bears…" Kaidan continued, looking bemused. "This is a mission all of us have been on before. Go in, find the signal source, get out. Simple."

"Tch. Nothing's ever simple, Kaidan." Garrus looked up at him. "You remember 'just go and find the plant' on Feros, right?"

"Ugh, don't remind me." Tali groaned. "Getting that sludge out of your suit systems was a nightmare."

"As simple as it gets for us, then." Kaidan smirked.

The table's comm unit flickered, and Joker's voice poured through. "We're circling the Citadel and ready to dock. You have a location?"

"Sending coordinates now, Joker." Kaidan adjusted a panel on his omni-tool and sent the relevant data. There was a brief halt in conversation on the other end, then…

"Uh, Kaidan? You know this leads to a big wall of nothing, right?"

"I do. They have a mining station planted against that wall. There's a series of tunnels that'll lead us where we need to go."

"All right. You're paying if I get the paint scratched, though." Tali rolled her eyes and, not for the first time, wondered what it was with Joker, Garrus, and ship hull paint.

* * *

They proceeded to the armory before the Normandy docked at the mining station. Jeddah alone refused to carry a weapon, which caused Kaidan some consternation before it was explained that, by choice, the geth did not harm sentient life, and in the case of non-sentients, the technical armaments contained in its chassis would be more than sufficient. Neither of them mentioned what those technical armaments were, mostly because they construed slight overkill.

The rest of them chose their usual loadouts from the last times they had been in combat situations.; A Scorpion and Locust for EDI, Kaidan found a Phaeston and Carnifex in the back, Garrus mulled his decision over somewhat before deciding on the Vindicator and Mantis, and Tali herself took a Scimitar. She'd had the foresight to pack her old Arc Pistol, so fortunately she only needed one other weapon.

Tali noted that everyone's readiness determined how long it had been since they'd seen combat. For her, she'd barely picked up a weapon for months. Garrus and Kaidan, on the other hand, must have seen combat fairly recently, because they looked like their choices were on instinct. EDI didn't have a shelf life on her memory, so she didn't have any hesitation anyway.

She glanced over at Davisson and saw that he hadn't actually taken any weapons from the ships' stocks. Instead, he took two rifles from a locker that he'd apparently stored his gear in. She hadn't seen the likes of either of them before. One looked like a cross between a Mantis and a Widow, the other some sort of shotgun/assault rifle hybrid. His actions were a bit slowed, so Tali placed him at having experience, but not being near battle for at least as long as she'd been.

Soon after, the six of them proceeded to the docking bay, the doors of which were already open. A volus was awaiting them just outside.

"So…nice of you…to join us…at last…" He said between inhalations. "I…assume…you are…the Spectre...who we've been…waiting for?"

"That's correct." Kaidan nodded. "Are the tunnels ready?"

"Of a…sort. They are…open…but we've had some…problems."

"What kind of problems?" Garrus asked impatiently.

"Keeper…problems. They are…all over this…section. And they seem to have…gone berserk."

"Well that's just great." Garrus sighed, looking at Kaidan. "'Simple', huh? At least we thought to bring guns."

"What kind of berserk?" Tali asked, curious.

"They will…attempt clawing…and then, ah…explode." The volus sighed, motioning behind him to a full medical building. "We've had…injuries. The explosions aren't…enough to cause…structural damage…to the tunnels…but they pass through…kinetic barriers."

"Well that's reassuring." Tali looked at Garrus. "I think I'll just be standing behind those of us with more structurally sound armor and, ah, bodies."

"Figures." Garrus checked his Vindicator's firing system idly. "Once again I get relegated to the enviable task of 'meat shield'."

"Perhaps if you were composed of something stronger than meat, it wouldn't be a problem." EDI told him.

"Good point. Let's send you and the geth in first, then."

"Jeddah." Tali corrected him calmly, but firmly.

Kaidan sighed. "Don't worry, we'll take care of the situation. Have you been briefed on where to send us?"

"Yes." The volus said dryly. "You'll want to…take this…" He gave Kaidan a data pad. "It's…a highlighted map...of the area. I need to…get back...to my job. Best of luck."

"So what's the plan?" Davisson asked. "Guns blazing?"

"If the keepers are out of control, I don't think we'll have any other choice." Kaidan tapped his helmet, activating the visor.

"Well there's no point just standing around." Garrus ejected a perfectly fine thermal clip for really no other reason than the noise it produced. "Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3: In The Dark

_"Ever feel like the universe just really wants you dead?"_

They proceeded down the tunnel system as carefully as possible. Garrus and Kaidan took up the lead, Tali and Davisson the back, with EDI and Jeddah between them. Kaidan kept one eye on the data pad that marked which directions to go, and one in front of him. In point of fact, he didn't even need that much. He trusted his companions to handle sudden dangers or alert him to trouble.

Well, he trusted Tali and Garrus, anyway.

_But should they trust me?_ He thought ruefully. As a Spectre, having and keeping secrets of galactic importance was part of the job. But he had his doubts as to whether keeping them in the dark was the right thing to do. He'd used most of his better judgment with Garrus - dropping Shepard's name may well have been the only way to get him in on this. Tali hadn't needed as much of a push, but he'd still told her next to nothing.

Like, for example, exactly why it had taken them so long to find this place, or even that they were looking for Shepard. His best hope was that they wouldn't kick too much of his ass when the time came to come clean. He would worry about all of that later. Right then, they had bigger problems.

"That volus didn't seem like the lying type." Garrus whispered, looking everywhere for signs of hostile contact. "So why aren't we being engaged? Where are the keepers? Shouldn't the tunnels in general be crawling with them?"

"Getting twitchy, Garrus?" Tali muttered.

"I'd just like to know whether or not to keep this concussive shot chambered." He growled back. Kaidan wondered if he was the only one who noticed that the turian hadn't been exactly himself. He seemed…darker. More caustic. He might be able to simply chalk it up to his own mistake. Telling him about Shepard's involvement might have sealed the deal, but it might also have compromised him. Their relationship wasn't exactly a secret, after all, and those...didn't always mix with a mission.

Something told him that wasn't the whole story. Something also told him that it wasn't his place to think about, or question.

"My auditory systems are detecting nothing unusual." EDI's voice rang out from Kaidan's right instead of from behind him, and he had to remind himself that she was probably speaking via communicator rather than aloud. "Neither are my other mechanical detection systems. It appears that we are alone."

"Great." Davisson said. "We're stuck in a bad horror vid. Now taking bets on whether the antagonist has a chaingun or a sword."

"Personally, I'd rather take EDI's giant space bears." Tali shot back. "At least we'll see those coming."

"Point taken."

"Cut the chatter." Garrus warned. "I think I see something ahead."

"My LADAR systems are also detecting movement at the edge of their radius." EDI confirmed. "A very large amount of movement."

The tunnel they were in began to open up rapidly, until they entered an enormous chamber. Pillars rose from the floor twenty feet below to hundreds of feet up, filled with flashing red lights like those on panels that lined the walls. Several large holes much like their entrance, but with doors, lead outward at distances from just a few dozen meters to the edge of their vision.

"Sometimes I forget that the Citadel is…big." Kaidan said, stowing the data pad away to catch a better look at his surroundings.

"Ah…not to be an alarmist, but has anyone else noticed that the floor is moving?" Garrus pointed his rifle below them, where innumerable amounts of insectoid quadrupeds were crawling over pillars and consoles alike. Their movements were erratic and frantic in equal measure.

"Offhand, I note that one of Jeff's repetitions regarding excrement would be perfect for this situation." EDI remarked.

"Shit." Kaidan ignored EDI's follow-up of 'exactly' and started backing up. "We can't fight that many. We need another en-"

A loud rumble cut him off. Tali dodged past him to the front and Davisson grabbed his arm to pull him back as the ceiling collapsed over the way they'd just come from. He drew his Phaeston and looked back at the sea of keepers around the area.

All of them had stopped moving. Dozens of eyes were now focused directly on their team.

"Kaidan…" Garrus attached an armor-piercing clip enhancement to his rifle. "I'm never letting you use the word 'simple' again without this as a reminder."

"Processing." Jeddah's tone was normal, but its vocal system's volume was turned down to reduce noise. "There are exactly sixty-two individuals in this room, not including friendly organics or AI units."

"Um." Tali rapidly shifted keys on her omni-tool until a construct expanded in front of them; a glowing blue drone. "Chiktikka, we're going to need some cover fire…"

"Well as two-thirds of us can attest, three-man squads have done a lot more damage with a lot worse odds." Davisson said, trying to sound confident. "So, six is a walk in the park, right?"

"Doesn't quite work like that." Garrus said. "Small groups at a time. This is…not a small group."

"Why are they all just staring?" Tali began, but was immediately cut off by a many-voiced screaming sound from all around them. Then the entire swarm began to charge. "Sorry I asked!"

They all split in different directions. Kaidan lost sight of everyone except EDI, who was next to him, and sprinted to the nearest cover he could find. Unfortunately, it put him in a corner. He could only hope that the others would keep a majority of them distracted; so far his visor's H.U.D. told him that there were seven keepers chasing him, both from his level and the ground floor.

_Check that,_ He thought to himself and ducked, EDI's incineration tech racing overhead and striking a keeper. _Six._

He felt some heat searing a small section of his armor when the creature exploded, and was momentarily deafened by the proximity. Just as well; he hadn't been able to hear anything over the numerous explosions, bouts of gunfire, and screaming nearby. He could only hope that all of those last were keeper sounds, and not a result of the team.

He loaded an automated cryo-stasis package onto his Phaeston and leaned it over his cover, shooting at the lower level for at least a small amount of suppression. Another red mark on his LADAR disappeared, and he heard the sound of ice shattering. _Five._

He pushed off of the railing and spun into a crouch, opening fire on two more keepers just across from his position, around a corner. One of them froze solid, legs chipping off and then smashing into shards, but the other took cover behind its compatriot and only suffered glancing wounds. Kaidan took one second to change his weapon's thermal clip, but it was one second too long.

The keeper took advantage of the pause immediately and leaped on him. Only lightning-fast reflexes courtesy of Spectre training kept him from being shredded to pieces, but his left arm suffered a deep gash when he rolled to the side. EDI's Locust tore into its skull, and he had to react quickly again to avoid further harm via explosion. He erected a hasty biotic barrier to keep the worst of the force and bits away, and the resulting hit was mercifully more like being pushed by an asari than a krogan.

He rolled again, this time to his feet, and looked down over the railing. If it weren't for his helmet, he would have had his face torn off, but the claw bounced off the plating. He returned the attack by way of several more rounds downward, and had the satisfaction of seeing two more keepers reduced to ice cubes. EDI swapped to the Scorpion and opened fire as well, but at a different keeper swarm that was surrounding…EDI. A holographic decoy, obviously, but still disorienting.

The chain reaction of explosions immediately obliterated half of the group, but it also deactivated the decoy. The survivors did not take long to find new targets, and raced over at what looked like a standing series of muzzle flashes and a whirling pair of omni-blades that Kaidan imagined were Garrus and Tali. He depleted his thermal clip shooting those that he could and motioned EDI further back towards the corner, shouting something he hoped was a coherent order.

Apparently she understood him, because she nodded and resumed fire at the last two keepers, moving away from him as she did so. Kaidan sprinted at Garrus and…Jeddah? The Geth seemed to have been given two fully-functional omni-blades and was using them to hack assailant keepers to bits with brutal efficacy. Nearby, a deep crimson defense drone was firing stunning blasts whenever it could, leaving the immobilized keepers open for a melee attack. Garrus himself was not faring poorly, either, managing to keep most of the explosions between himself and the Geth, and firing either across or below whenever he saw a target. The sheer amount of blood and gore around them didn't leave much room for an accurate estimate, but Garrus' spent thermal clips on the ground allowed him to guess on perhaps a dozen and a half having already been killed between them.

He would have done the math on that, but he had more important things to worry about. Namely, despite how well off they were, there were still at least thirty keepers left, most of them in this area of the room. Between the numerous legs they had and the general commotion around him, he could barely tell where they were at any given time, never mind how many there were. Luckily, a high rate-of-fire weapon like the Phaeston put him at a distinct advantage using the spray and pray method. He only needed to avoid hitting any friendlies.

He rolled between both of Jeddah's blades and came up behind Garrus, standing. They both resumed fire without missing a beat, each soldier's back against the other's. Garrus concentrated his shots at any keepers Jeddah missed, which were few and far between but suited his method of sniping perfectly. Kaidan, meanwhile, pressed his finger down hard on the trigger and aimed his weapon in the general direction of the tide, only stopping to eject a clip when his ammunition ran low.

He only realized the problem when his gun stopped firing. While three keepers all charged him at once.

"Clip!" He shouted desperately, hoping someone would hear him. In the meantime, he threw a biotic field at the middle one, quickly disintegrating it as its molecular structure was obliterated by the reaving burst. That still left two, though, and he braced himself for impact at the same instant he heard a reply over his radio.

"Barrier!"

He couldn't tell who it was, but he immediately obliged, putting up a shimmering blue shield in front of him. It wouldn't be nearly enough, but it might buy him some time…

He saw a flash from the side of the room across from where he was facing, and his eyes caught the wisp of smoke left over from the tracer as a sniper round tore through the keeper on his right, ricocheted off the wall and his barrier, and put a new hole on the keeper to his left as well as one that looked like it was attempting to bowl Tali over.

His hands fumbled when Garrus passed him a thermal clip, but the point had been made; he needed to conserve ammo. This in mind, he leveled short, controlled bursts at the keepers attempting to rip Davisson and Tali to pieces, freezing most of them solid and killing the ones that didn't take.

"Backpedal and regroup!" He shouted at them, waving the pair over. Davisson drew his shotgun and put down cover fire in the form of fully automatic spreading slugs. Kaidan had just enough time to be impressed - he'd have to ask the marine about it later. EDI rejoined the group, firing down over the railing at the keepers trying to claw their way up. Kaidan took out his Carnifex and joined her assault. Davisson and Tali coordinated fire to his right so that while one was reloading, the other was firing as needed. Garrus continued to look for openings in between Jeddah's slashing acrobatics display. The Geth didn't seem to feel a need to slow down, and that was fine with them.

The keepers progressed in a straight line; no dodging, weaving, or tricks to make aiming necessary. Just take a bead and shoot. This gave Kaidan an opportunity to control his breathing and check his vitals. It looked like he had a bruised rib and some third-degree burns on his side, but they were hardly injuries that required even medi-gel, much less immediate attention. Occasionally he saw one of two defense drones fire on a keeper that either he or EDI were engaging, causing them to fall. They would either explode on impact or shuffle back in line, but either way it was a reprieve.

There was a moment when he kept firing down towards the ground floor, despite there being no keepers in his line of sight. He held there, and looked around. Everyone else had stopped as well. It took his mind even more time to process that the fight was over.

"Well." Garrus double-checked the walls and floors, then shrugged. "That was a little anti-climactic."

"Status report?" Kaidan asked, looking around to make sure everyone was intact.

"My plating has several indentations, but no major functions have been damaged." Jeddah responded, retracting his omni-blades.

"I had a puncture, but it's already been patched." Tali checked her systems again and nodded. "Patched."

"I'm good…" Davisson was still looking around for any hostiles to come out of invisible holes or some such. He slid away his shotgun and turned on Jeddah, frowning. "And can someone tell me why the pacifist Geth was ripping apart keepers like a goddamn vorcha destroyer on steroids?"

"I am outfitted for defensive combat against organic and mechanical non-sapients." Jeddah explained. "There is no evidence to indicate that the keepers are capable of intelligent thought, and we were in danger."

"Right." Davisson grunted. "Someone remind me to never piss him off."

"We should continue forward." EDI said. "It is unlikely that we can remove the rubble blocking our return path with the means at our disposal, and we still need to disable the Reaper signal."

"Just to be sure, we have other exits, right?" Garrus asked.

"Assuming the keepers didn't close those off, too." Tali put in grimly.

Kaidan checked the data pad and was relieved to find it still intact. "It looks like the systems they dug have multiple entry points. And even if they're closed off, we can call in for them to get us out."

"May as well get moving, then." Garrus motioned forward with his Mantis.

Kaidan nodded and reconfigured the map settings, getting a handle on which directions to go. Once that was finished, all there was left to do was walk.

Nothing would bar their path for a few minutes, but that just made the walk longer.

* * *

The party of six encountered no further keeper resistance for the first several turns and doors. The only sounds echoing through the dark corridors were footsteps, breathing, the occasional hiss of an opening door. EDI could not vouch for her companions with complete accuracy, but she imagined the situation was very tense for all of them.

All of them, perhaps, except the Geth.

Ever since Shepard had reactivated Legion approximately five years prior to serve with the crew on the appropriately-dubbed 'suicide mission', the Geth species (for, in fact, especially in the current climes, the Geth could be considered a species in the own right) had been of great interest to her. The only real examples of Artificial Intelligence she could compare her existence to were them and the Reapers. And to put it lightly, she had no interest in comparing herself to the Reapers. That some of Sovereign had been incorporated into her design bothered her enough.

Now that the Geth and Quarian peoples had begun to co-exist again in earnest, their advances in both AI potential and technology in general was astounding. Already they had found ways to house in a platform only one Geth unit, and yet they still retained the intelligence of hundreds. EDI herself was a single unit, of course, but she wondered at the possibilities of different designs. Unfortunately, there was precious little to go by.

More importantly, she wondered at her own sentience. She was free-thinking, independent, capable of integrating into human society…generally more person than program, at least by human standards. However, while she could mimic certain quirks, social mores, and appropriate responses, she did not entirely feel like a person. Namely, she did not feel as though she had the same emotional standards as those around her. She could feel grief, happiness, anger, and more, but not apparently to the same degree as other sentient beings.

Jeff had informed her that many organic races also had individuals with either stunted or muted emotions, and she had accepted his explanation, but privately she did not believe that was the same thing. Races such as humans all had the innate capability for emotion and sentience, whereas in most cases she merely felt as though she was exhibiting what others thought were appropriate emotional responses. For all intents and purposes, she was copying the _patterns_ of feelings, rather than having any of her own. At least, that was her theory.

It needed to be tested.

Her communication systems passed along several shared data lines until finding a section she could block off from outside intrusions. Despite only housing one unit, Jeddah's internal networks were remarkably complex, though she encountered no resistance.

Some organics might have compared the experience to telepathy, but in reality it was more akin to simple radio communication. If the radio was in the individual's main processing database. And the individual could use it to speak coherently. Now that she thought about it, perhaps telepathy was not an unapt comparison.

_Jeddah, I would like to speak with you._

Tellingly, Tali'Zorah immediately turned something off on her omni-tool, for which EDI was grateful (grateful…was that an emotion?) - she preferred it to be a private conversation.

The response was instantaneous even by mechanical standards. _We are currently engaged in a conversation. What topic would you like to discuss?_ She doubted that the rest of the team might have even been able to differentiate strands of data - each response took less than a second and was more binary code and technical stimuli than true spoken language. Her omni-tool implants automatically recorded the interaction. Her memory was perfect by design, but she kept records of a vast majority of her important interactions in case of a failure on the part of her operating systems.

E: _I am interested to know about your emotional programming. _She could have phrased it more diplomatically, but she was more concerned with answers than tact. Concern...was that, too, an emotion?

J: _Affirmative. My inter-social programming includes emotional simulators to better connect with organics….and other AI units._

E: _Are these simulators standard for Geth?_

J: _No. They are unique in their advanced nature._

E: _Had I a gambling matrix, I would wager that they were created by Tali'Zorah._

J: _…An artificial intelligence can adapt to the nuances of gambling without-_

E: _I know. That was a joke._

J: _Understood. I am amused. And confused._

E: _A multitude of emotional responses. What causes your confusion?_

J: _You are capable of producing humor without having been programmed to do so. I have yet to master that aspect of interaction. _

E: _I have excellent role models._

J: _Perhaps both of us can learn from the other._

E: _Then I would like to-_

J: _When we are not in danger of being interrupted by violence._

E: _Point taken._

She disconnected, both intrigued and disappointed by the conversation. Based on Jeddah's surprise, some of her social tendencies and operations were more advanced than was typical for an AI. Though, that could as easily be explained as having adapted due to no shortage of source material as by her superior systems. Jeddah appeared to be even more of an enigma than the Geth that she had met before it. Him? She realized that while she identified with a gender descriptor, the Geth did not. Was this intentional, or something else unique about her?

Speaking of unique, she only then realized that the Geth had both dodged her questions about its creation and convinced her to disconnect prematurely. At the speeds they were communicating, possibility of interruption would be nonexistent. She wondered if 'clever' was a possible installation. Then again, if it was created by Tali'Zorah, of course that would be the case.

"What is that?" Kaidan asked, pointing ahead. A soft red glow was building in intensity as they approached the end of the most recent corridor.

"I do not recognize the energy signature," EDI replied. "But it is emitting the Reaper signal from earlier. I believe this is our destination."

"Lock and load, people." Garrus said. "And be ready for anything."

The next chamber held several interesting sights. Firstly, it appeared to have been some sort of elevator shaft leading upward into a rising abyss, but most of the systems both of this level and the ones above had been demolished, leaving a small crater and assorted rubble. Secondly, what remained of the pillars the chamber used to contain had red lines that looked like mechanical veins running upward. On pillars that had been severed from the tops, the veins ended in sparking short-circuits. As well, two human skeletons lay on the floor. One of them had several implants that were very familiar to EDI.

The fourth curiosity was a large red and blue shield bubble in the center of the chamber. It appeared to be some sort of enhanced biotic field encircling a hazily-visible visage. It looked human, but it was difficult to tell.

"This barrier looks weak." Kaidan assessed. "One good shot might break it down. I don't think it was meant to survive damage - more like an equivalent of cryogenic stasis. Long-term preservation."

EDI nodded. "I concur with Major Alenko. It is one of few explanations that make sense, given the circumstances."

"Okay, one more count for the 'biotic fields can do damn near anything' scoreboard, check." Davisson appeared unwilling to get much closer to the shield. "Question is - what's it preserving?"

"Only one way to find out." Garrus raised the butt of his rifle and stopped, looking around.

"What?" Kaidan asked.

"Oh, nothing, I just figured someone would stop me if this thing could electrocute me or something."

"Don't worry, Garrus." Tali's voice couldn't conceal her smirk. "You can take the shock."

"That's comforting." He muttered, and slammed the rifle into the shield.

All of them were blasted back by a concussive shockwave when it collapsed.

Both synthetics were the first to recover, scanning the area past the dust for signs of life. EDI read five vital signs…which meant that whatever or whoever was in the field was still alive. But something was wrong. "Vital scans are familiar…" She said.

"My god!" Kaidan had turned on his flashlight and aimed it at the now very familiar human body. It cast shadows on the wall and illuminated a set of N7 dogtags.

"C'mon, it didn't hurt that bad- oh _shit_." Davisson was the second up among the organics, and had seen the same thing Kaidan had.

Tali rose shortly after, and was struck nearly speechless. "Wh-…That's not…"

Garrus, last to get to his feet, took one look at the attraction and raced past the rubble to the body.

"Shepard…" He turned her over; battered as she was, he recognized that face. He would know that face anywhere. He choked up, unable to continue. He didn't have to.

Her eyes shot open, and he knew something was horribly wrong. Not the light violet that he remembered, but a deep red. Ancient…angry…awake.

She was the next to speak. The voice in question was even less hers than the new irises.

**"ASSUMING….DIRECT….CONTROL."**


	4. Chapter 4: The Next Step

_"Guy's a genius. Certifiable, but..."_

A thousand different thoughts and conclusions raced through Garrus' mind at once. None of them were particularly helpful or, for that matter, comprehensible, but they seemed to agree on one overriding thought: This is not happening.

He refused to register reality when the hand closed over his face. He believed he was living in some kind of dream while he went flying across the room. Even the shouts and weapons fire were all just part of the nightmare.

He could vaguely hear one voice rise more clearly over the others, like it was closer, feel a brush of movement against his shoulder. Not that it mattered. In a moment, he would wake up, like he always did. Renar would alert him to whatever he needed to know about the _Victorious' _situation. Maybe they had some LADAR fluctuations. Maybe they needed a cannon calibrated. He was good at that. Wasn't he?

He found himself confusedly staring at the ceiling suddenly. Some random Quarian had turned him over…she looked vaguely familiar. So did the human behind her, though he couldn't get a good look. Ah, there. He watched with only a modicum of interest when the Quarian went sailing into a wall. There she was.

Shepard.

So it was this part already, was it? He could never remember this part. But if he could remember it now, wouldn't he remember it then? He felt himself grunt, but didn't actually hear anything. Dreams were confusing. Especially the finer details...some things changed. Surroundings, outfits, activities. But…that was odd. If there was one constant, it was always her. But she didn't seem right somehow. Maybe it was the eyes. Those…were they supposed to be red?

An alarm flashed in his mind. One voice rang out above the others. It wasn't his, but he knew it. Roughly translated from various feelings amongst the adrenaline, it told him: 'This is real. Move your ass or you are going to die'.

His head appreciated the advice more than his ass, since that was where the biotic punch nearly hit. He moved his whole upper torso to the side, and the blue death missile made a deep hole in the ground where his face used to be. He retaliated with a closed fist, but nearly broke his hand on the barrier surrounding he-…it. Whatever this thing was, it was most definitely not Shepard. At the very least, that explanation would keep him sane.

He had maybe half a second to check his surroundings, but that was enough to realize things were going badly. Both AI's were spinning around a singularity nearby with some rubble and the two skeletons, and apparently their machinery wasn't good enough to acclimatize to the situation and open fire. Tali was slouched against the wall she'd been tossed at. She was moving, but slowly. He could see the outline of some blue armor behind cover and knew that Kaidan was safe for the moment. And Davisson…

Davisson was being an idiot.

The marine was just outside range of the singularity, behind the not-Shepard. Instead of doing something like, say, shoot at it, he charged like a drunk krogan and bowled it over. It gave Garrus an opportunity to get to his feet, but he had a feeling Davisson was going to pay for it.

When he turned around, not-Shepard was priming what looked like a biotic nuke, and then fell over backwards. Davisson, from his position on his back, wrapped a leg behind its knee and pulled, causing it to lose its balance. He then rolled to a standing position and drew his shotgun. Garrus saw that a concussive round was already primed.

By all rights, it should have worked. Unfortunately, not-Shepard had lightning reflexes and power to spare. Rather than fire the shot, Davisson had to hit the deck to avoid being pummeled by two orbs of whirling energy. The place in Garrus' mind that held all his snappy comebacks commented that two of those things was just ridiculous. Fortunately, it would end decisively, if he had his way.

Garrus had his Vindicator out in a flash and loaded his own concussive round, aiming it at its grinning…grinning? That could not be good. His eyes flicked to the side and only barely saw the two biotic orbs come back around straight at him. He ducked, and both of them hit the singularity, which promptly exploded and threw a rather large flailing geth at him, and a slightly smaller flailing AI at Davisson. Both of them were knocked to the ground, though Garrus thought that the Colonel had the better end of the deal.

Kaidan picked that moment to stand from cover and open fire with his Carnifex, which he suddenly didn't have. Not-Shepard stood as well, and casually grabbed the pistol from midair, releasing the anti-gravity biotic pulling effect it had generated. Kaidan put up a barrier, but not-Shepard blew it away with a warp field with a mere hand movement and took aim. Kaidan ducked behind cover and closed the distance by way of roundabout diving through various obstacles. He leaped over one, knocked the pistol from not-Shepard's grip, and struck out with a fist.

His blow was countered, but his other hand focused a biotic molecular disintegration effect aimed at its barrier. In a series of blazing fast hand movements, the Spectre bought time for it to go down completely. But it wasn't enough.

Not-Shepard gained the upper hand with a quick feint and grab, and put Kaidan in a headlock. Garrus grabbed at the Carnifex near him, but it pushed the weapon away, readying to snap a human vertebrae.

But then it started jerking and spasming erratically like it was being electrocuted. Which it was. Tali stood behind it, holding her Arc Pistol and firing repeatedly.

"Get up and go!" She shouted. "Hurry!"

Kaidan elbowed not-Shepard in the face and broke free, grabbing his sidearm and running down the hallway they came from. Davisson and EDI followed, and Jeddah helped Garrus to his feet. Tali was the last one out, and far outpaced everyone else in moments, like she was running from disaster. Garrus quickened his step, not knowing what to expect. He saw Tali stop, spin around, and slam a button on her omni-tool. The sound of a massive explosion from behind them gave him a second wind as the collapse brought down tons of debris, blocking the path back…and to them.

Davisson and Garrus both slid to a stop, but the others kept running.

"Keep going!" Kaidan shouted. "That's not going to stop her for long!"

By the time they all got back to the keeper complex, they could hear the sounds of explosions and biotic force slamming around behind them. Garrus groaned in despair. It was bad enough that thing looked like Shepard; it had to be as unstoppable, too? Worse yet, it looked like the keepers had sealed the other doorways out in their absence. They were trapped.

"Spectre Alenko to mining team! We need an exit now! Bring power drills, anything! Sending coordinates…" Kaidan sounded nearly as desperate as Garrus felt.

"Acknowledged. Step away from the collapsed exit." Well. He didn't expect that. But it didn't sound like the volus. In fact, it sounded more like someone using a program to mask their voice. Nevertheless, they each picked a section of wall that was nowhere near the pile of rubble that was their way out, and waited.

The sounds of their imminent death were coming closer.

Closer…closer…

Not-Shepard turned the corner at a run and slowed down to a walking pace, like a predator stalking wounded prey…and enjoying it. It raised its hand, likely to do something incredibly destructive, when a very large rock sent it flying back.

Smaller debris cascaded forward from the tunnel, and when the dust cleared they saw a woman in full body armor stepping forward. She had a pistol. One singular pistol. A Predator, no less. Garrus might have broken down at their 'rescue' right then, but the woman coated herself in a shimmering blue field just in time to absorb two of those biotic orbs which, based on their velocity and impact spread, looked like they hit with roughly the same force as a hovercar. At top speed.

The woman tossed the boulder between her and not-Shepard out of the way with ease, and created a singularity behind her opponent. Not-Shepard turned to destroy it, but was knocked off-balance and on to the lower level by a warp field. It only barely had time to block the follow-up pull field, and not nearly enough to deflect the stasis. Not-Shepard was encased in what looked like bright translucent armor, immobilized.

Unsatisfied, the woman ricocheted a similar biotic orb as those used before off the ground, and it sent not-Shepard flying into the air. The woman grabbed it in midair and slammed it back into the ground, making a sizeable dent in the metal floor.

She turned back to look at the rest of them, who were generally speechless.

"That's…that's just not fair." Davisson muttered.

"I see all of us are still experts at getting into trouble." She unhooked her helmet and motioned back at the motionless figure of not-Shepard. Garrus sunk lower in relief.

"Liara!" Kaidan said. "I never thought I could be this glad to see you."

"I never thought it would be necessary." She nodded her head back towards the other side of the room. "What was that thing?"

"Appearance and biotic capacity match Commander Shepard." EDI replied. Neither of the AI's looked as shaken as the rest of them, but EDI in particular looked about ready to start shouting 'does not compute'.

"What?" Liara's eyes widened with shock. "That's not possible!"

"We…we never knew what happened…it's possible she…" Tali sounded numb, but the fact that she was speaking at all was a good sign.

"No, not that!" Liara cut her off with a shake of the head. "I have never been close to Shepard's equal in biotic combat. She should have disposed of me easily."

"I don't know, you handled those rocks pretty well." Davisson motioned to the empty passage out.

A small smile played across the asari's face. "Actually, that was an explosive charge. Perhaps all this time has simply dulled her skill."

"It might not even be her." Kaidan's comment was met with silence for a time.

"We aren't going to learn anything standing here either way. Let's get that thing to a medical bay." Liara said. "I have some questions."

* * *

"How did this happen?" Liara asked them, looking concerned. The seven of them (eight, including Joker) were gathered around a table in the Normandy's medical bay. None of them could take their eyes off of the figure that occupied it.

"I don't know." Kaidan said. "This shouldn't even be possible. Five years? Including a massive detonation from the Crucible and all the other injuries?" He motioned at the medical charts, though no one looked at them. The sight of the numerous broken and shattered bones, horrific burns and skin lacerations alone would have made anyone queasy, but the armor fused to her skin and completely alien brain activity caused by Reaper infection made it unbearable.

"Ever read her records?" Davisson didn't look as physically ill as Garrus or Tali, but he looked as haunted as all of them. "Half the stuff in there makes this look like a black eye. I'm more worried about the Reaper…we're sure about that part, right?"

"Yes." EDI spoke for the first time since boarding the Normandy. "She has all the symptoms of being controlled."

"We don't have any idea how, though." Joker added.

"It may rely on indoctrination." Liara proposed. "Any suitably weakened mind, perhaps."

"Are we seriously saying Shepard's indoctrinated?" Joker asked her incredulously. "That's crazy!"

"We do not know for certain what occurred aboard the Citadel after Shepard went through the transport beacon." EDI said. "In those terms, nearly anything could have happened."

"Prothean beacons might've had something to do with it. I know _I'd_ be less able to fight indoctrination with visions floating around everywhere." Davisson glanced up and saw that they were all staring at him. "…What? I did my homework."

"Wait, you _knew_ this was going to involve Shepard?" Tali looked between Garrus and Davisson angrily.

Joker and Kaidan looked uncomfortable, Davisson raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Spectre, and Garrus continued looking blankly down at the medical table.

"The information was class-" Kaidan began hesitantly.

"Bullshit!" Tali pointed a finger at him, her voice rising to a shout. "You told Joker, EDI, Garrus, and even Davisson! After all we went through with her?! The _only_ thing I can't figure out is why you _or_ the Council thought it would be a remotely good idea to leave me out like this!"

"Because we didn't need to!" Kaidan's voice rose above hers, cutting her off. He paused for a moment, then continued. "You were the only one in this group that I knew would come along just because I asked. The others needed the push. I didn't tell you because I trusted that you would trust me."

"And great work you did on my trust and confidence _now_, Spectre." She said coldly. "Come on, Jeddah."

She and the Geth stormed out of the medical bay, leaving silence in their wake.

"Yeah…" Davisson sighed. "That went well."

"This situation is in direct opposition to the definition of 'well'." EDI corrected.

"Well hey, no one got shot. That's great for us." Joker clapped a hand on Kaidan's back and hobbled out, motioning EDI to follow. "We'll be flying the ship."

"And I'll ah…ah screw it, I'm just out." Davisson threw up his arms and followed the exiting crowd.

Kaidan closed his eyes. "You didn't tell her?" Liara asked softly.

"Information at a premium, Liara. We know that better than anyone."

"There is a point at which that excuse simply doesn't work." He heard the resentful admonishment in her voice, and then her footsteps faded out the door.

Well. Theory confirmed.

"Dare I ask what's going on in here?" Dr. Chakwas looked around the now emptier room curiously.

"Just a…" Kaidan found that he couldn't admit to her an accurate description. "Nothing. Do you have the brain scans?"

Chakwas looked at him severely. "They aren't 'brain scans', Major. But yes." She held up two readings of brain function. The one on the right was lit up like an explosive charge, while the one on the left looked fairly normal.

"So, the one on the right is Shepard, and the one on the left is…?"

"Also Shepard." At his look of surprise, she indicated both scans. "My latest and second-latest readings of her brain functions, respectively. This one…" She shook the right. "Is absolutely nothing like her at all. In fact, it looks more like an entirely different entity is controlling all of her functions."

"Indoctrination?" Kaidan asked, feeling Liara's fears had been confirmed.

"No." Chakwas shook her head. "I've seen indoctrination. That looks much different, like a shutdown, not an enhancement. But without a point of comparison I honestly have no idea what's going on. So far I've used my best judgment, and that may not be the accurate judgment. Thus the sedatives."

"About those…" Kaidan began.

"Don't worry." Chakwas waved a hand. "She has enough in her to shut down a raging krogan. I'm not about to take any risks."

"I know." They both turned in surprise. Garrus had his head turned to look at them, but his voice was toneless, numb. "I know what's happening."

* * *

"And you recorded this in the Collector base?" Kaidan asked, watching the glowing collector throw concussive balls and flaming detonators around the battlefield.

"No." Garrus shook his head. "This was on Horizon. There were just more occurrences on the Collector base." He altered the volume control to set for vocals only and rewound the recording.

**"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL."**

Those words, even from so long ago, chilled the blood of everyone present. Garrus shut off the recording and looked at Kaidan. "Sound familiar?"

"Reaper possession?" Kaidan asked, shocked. "How?"

"The beacon, the Cipher, too much time near them, whatever happened on the Citadel, who knows. Maybe all of them, maybe none."

"I noticed some discrepancies…" Chakwas said slowly. "For one, from what you described, Shepard used neither of those Collector attacks during the battle, and I'm fairly certain she isn't glowing like a magma pool."

"If Garrus is right, that means one of two things." Kaidain looked back at the medical table. "Either all of that is Collector specific…"

"Or Shepard's resisting." Garrus pointed in the direction of the body. "She's still in there, fighting whatever this is, and if we-"

"Garrus." Chakwas shook her head. "We don't even know if your theory is correct. There's no reason to get our hopes up unless we're absolutely sure."

"Fine." Garrus replied coolly. "You two can believe what you'd like. I need to go…anywhere."

Kaidan could only watch sadly as the entrance to the medical bay closed once more.

* * *

"You realize of course that, objectively, this is patently ridiculous."

Kaidan held back a sigh. Leave it to the Turian council member to try and reject the situation out of hand. Of the three of them present, he considered him the least 'objective'. And that was behind Wrex.

Davisson continued checking whatever data file he was engrossed in at the back corner, leaving just Kaidan and Liara at a small desk in the council's private meeting room. All five councilors had received the debriefing, but only asari, turian, and krogan had decided to hear it from the source. So far, it was going fairly well. No arguments. Yet.

The turian councilor held up a hand. "However, no good has come from my dismissing the concerns of your team out of hand. Particularly seeing as how this involves Shepard. However, I wonder what exactly you think we can do to assist you."

"Respectfully, councilor, we haven't the slightest idea what we are dealing with. Whatever is afflicting Shepard is completely unprecedented, and I at least am leery of doing anything with her until we have more information." Diplomacy, T'Soni-style. "If there are any scientists, contacts, even think tanks you could provide us with…"

"And your own resources are insufficient for this task, Dr. T'Soni?" The asari councilor said 'Doctor' with a hint of irony.

A small flush of violet crept up Liara's cheeks, but she kept her composure. "My resources are…suited to different kinds of tasks, councilor. More importantly, I believe those in direct contact with the council are more trustworthy in general."

Wrex chuckled. "Am I the only one who remembers the Dalatrass, or Saren? No, don't answer that. I might know someone like what you're asking for. A salarian researcher on Tuchanka."

"Recommending a salarian for something as important as this? Did I hear you incorrectly, Councilor Wrex?" The turian councilor stared at the unshaken krogan.

"He's proven himself to us." Wrex shrugged, but left the rest of his thoughts hanging thick in the air. From his tone, who in the room hadn't proven themselves was unmistakable.

Liara cleared her throat softly. "What does this salarian research?"

"Krogan genetics. Approved, this time." Wrex glanced at the other councilors, who bristled. "If we get into a population crisis, I want to make sure the Rebellions don't happen again."

"How exactly do you intend to go about that?" Kaidan normally wouldn't have asked, but he was curious.

"We're still in the planning phases." Wrex waved him off. "But he suggested taking a link out of the quarian's omni-tool."

"What makes you think he would be able to help us?" Liara interrupted. "This doesn't exactly fall within normal genetic research."

"Let's just say he has experience with this kind of thing. You might have heard of his uncle." Wrex smirked.

Davisson piped up immediately. "You're sending us to talk to _Kerrin Solus_?"

* * *

Red.

It tinged the edge of its vision. Outlines of the eyes blocked by crimson. It could only see forward.

It tried to raise its head but could not. Merely keeping eyes open was difficult. Thoughts became harder, and it could not think. Could not move. Only look directly ahead.

Its ears worked only barely. It could hear faint shouts, commotion. A human woman passed in front of it, arms reaching overhead to do something. It could not turn to see. This was frustrating.

A turian head blocked its vision. He was shouting something. Its right arm was being moved. It could feel the motion, but not feel the grip. The sensation, and lack thereof, was annoying.

Darkness embraced it…


	5. Chapter 5: Apologies and Expositions

_"Well this raises several interesting questions. Namely, _you _got laid?"_

"Feels emptier than our last briefing, doesn't it?"

Davisson's rhetorical question went unanswered by any of them. Liara had hoped that Garrus, at least, would be interested in this, but he had insisted that after the earlier shock of Shepard's awakening, someone should stand guard in the medical bay. And he wasn't going to let anyone else take the job. Tali, too, opted to stay in the Engineering deck, though she suspected that choice was less to do with the drive core than it was to do with still being angry at Kaidan.

Not that she pitied him very much. Under the circumstances, Tali's anger was entirely justified, and Liara also wondered why the Spectre thought leaving her out of the loop would be a good idea. Granted, being in his position couldn't be easy, but merely one name given earlier might have given them two extra companions for the immediate future, and stopped quite a bit of resentment.

"Well, at least we can let the crew off the leash." Davisson continued. "The Jewel of the Krogan Clans might not be the best vacation spot, but they've got to have bars _somewhere_."

"The improved ecosystem has supported a steady amount of tourists for six years." EDI said. "There will be several avenues for departure of standard duty, and rest time is important for morale."

"I know about shore leave, EDI." Kaidan said shortly. Clearly, he wasn't the only one angry about his slip-up. "But we need to be ready to leave at a moment's notice, no matter the location. All essential crew stay aboard."

"Where is Dr. Solus' lab located?" EDI asked, unfazed by the Major's manner.

"It's mobile, we're not sure exactly where." Kaidan indicated the map hovering over the briefing table.

"Then why are we here?" EDI sounded puzzled, referring to Kehtus, the city where they were landing.

"We need the coordinates from his assistant, Urdnot Deshayla, to find exactly where he is." Liara explained.

"And this Deshayla is...where?" Davisson perked a brow.

Liara just smiled.

* * *

Deshayla, as it turned out, was not in a high-tech facility, behind a desk, trading messages with shady informants. Deshayla was, in fact, at a bar. Drinking several fresh warriors from various clans under the table.

"Oh how times change." Davisson grinned, his comment nearly unheard under the din of various krogan and other species drinking, arguing, laughing (one pair in the corner was singing, but none of them wanted to pay them attention) or brawling.

Kaidan glanced at a nearby Ganar clan warrior and rubbed his forehead. "Let's get our information before something bad happens."

What looked like the third warrior in a row passed out in front of a highly intoxicated krogan female who, oddly enough, was wearing a male's combat armor. She laughed and downed another glass of ryncol for what Liara could only imagine was 'the hell of it'.

"Come on!" She shouted, glancing around at any others nearby. "First one to take me on gets a kick in the quad, on the house!"

"Maybe we could buy you another round and talk, instead." Kaidan said diplomatically, holding up a hand.

He got a suspicious glare in return. "Not unless you take one yourself, plateless."

"Look, we don't want to-" Kaidan began.

"You're on." EDI, Liara, Kaidan, and the krogan looked at Davisson with dispassionate curiosity, amazement, frustration, and shock, respectively. The marine grinned at her. "But how about we try something with more of a kick than that crap you call a drink."

The krogan stared at him for a full three seconds before bursting out laughing. "You've got a quad and a half, human! Bring it on!"

Davisson signaled to the bartender. "Two Batarian sidewinders, toss in some red bloom and make it quick."

Given the lethality of what he just had requested, Liara was impressed that the krogan barkeep barely blinked. He mixed two bottles with each other, added some crushed herb, and gave one glass each to Davisson and Deshayla. "Fine. But when you die of alcohol poisoning, make sure it's outside."

Deshayla growled and tossed hers back immediately, with Davisson consuming his beverage soon after. She set the glass down and stared for a moment, then blinked.

"Holy sh-" The bar rocked as she finally keeled over. Liara heavily suspected that she would need to replace at least one liver after that.

Davisson set his full glass (a small amount of the drink was over his closed lips, which he wiped off) back down on the bar and glanced down, looking vaguely disappointed. "Guess I'm gonna miss that kick in the quad."

"Colonel, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Kaidan's hands were closed into fists.

"Saving you an hour and a half of diplomacy, sir. She's a krogan; you need to be strong enough to respect."

"He knows us better'n you, human." The bartender shrugged, then offered Kaidan a drink. "Ryncol?"

Kaidain threw his arms up in the air and scoffed, resigning himself to leaning against a nearby wall, scowling.

"We should probably wake her as soon as possible. Do you have any cold water?" Liara inquired to the bartender.

"This is a bar." He responded, like the answer was obvious.

Liara just raised a brow at him.

"Outside, in the back." He thumbed in that general direction.

"Great, cheers." Davisson hefted half of the unconscious Urdnot across his shoulder. "Want to help me out here, you two?"

After the third barrel of ice-cold water soaked her head, Deshayla opened her eyes with a jolt, sputtering.

"What the-?" She saw Davisson and narrowed her eyes. "That thing knocked me on my ass and left you standing?"

"Yeah. Didn't anyone ever teach you to not pick battles you can't win, lightweight?" Liara was about to face-palm when the female actually grinned.

"Guess not." She admitted. She stood up and looked around at the four of them, realization dawning on her quickly. Her grin turned to a scowl. "But I get the feeling you didn't drag me out of there just to rub it in. What do you want?"

"Wrex sent us to-" Kaidan began.

"Wrex? Dammit, you're after that crazy pyjak Solus, aren't you?"

"That is the five-minute version, as it were." EDI said.

"As long as it was Wrex's idea, I'll give you what you'd like." She glared at the four of them. "But I'm not going to open up just because you asked."

"Good." Kaidan said bluntly. "Because he sent along some insurance." He activated a message on his omni-tool and Wrex's voice barked out suddenly.

"Deshayla, stop drinking and tell them the damn location already."

Liara chuckled. That was definitely Wrex. Apparently Deshayla thought so too, because she flicked on her own omni-tool and transferred some data to Kaidan without missing a beat.

"He's off-planet. Some backwater asari world. I don't have a full handle of what he's doing over there, but with him it's never small."

"Mesana system?" Kaidan asked. "Isn't that…"

"The location of the Ardat-Yakshi monastery, yes." Liara nodded. "He must be studying their condition, or something similar."

"Must be something pretty interesting to get him to drop whatever he was doing here." Davisson noted. "Or maybe he was just bored."

"Either way." Deshayla shook her head. "You never know with that one. By the way, just thought I'd let you know that anyone looking for him is either crazy or stupid."

"You don't seem to have a high opinion of him." Liara pointed out.

"He's useful for whatever the research of the day is." She admitted grudgingly. "Teaches some nice tricks. But…humph. Never mind. Pacifists make my plates itch, is all."

"That would explain a great deal." EDI commented dryly. "But also seems odd, given his choice of role model."

"I know. You'd think he'd be varren-shit crazy on the blood rage side of the scale, but no." She sounded disappointed. "I'd just be satisfied if he set some idiot on fire every once and a while."

"It sounds like we have our heading, then." Kaidan closed his omni-tool, clearly eager to be anywhere else. "We should get back to the ship."

"And I need a longer nap." Deshayla rubbed her head with one hand, then gave Davisson a predatory look. "Keep in touch, human. I still owe you that kick in the quad."

She left him blinking and stunned in the Tuchanka sunlight. "I…I uh…I think I was just propositioned by a krogan."

"Yes." Liara said simply, putting a hand on his shoulder. Then she smiled at him wryly. "Goddess help you."

* * *

Even after the four-man squad had left briefly for Tuchanka, and in fact still some time after they had come back and the Normandy was set in motion, Tali was seething. She knew she couldn't stay angry at Kaidan forever, not while so many things were going on or his actions were (in a _very_ small way) remotely understandable. So, she'd take it all the way as long as she could.

Not even Gabby and Kenneth's jovial manners, nor Adams' comforting presence could get a rise out of her. She was determined to be angry and by this pulsing drive core, angry she'd be. But then…

"Secondary systems are functioning at two point seven percent higher efficiency." Jeddah said, checking the readouts nearby.

Tali sighed. _Damn you, Jeddah._ She thought dramatically. _Why must you be so pleasant. Why…_

"What? We're already operating at maximum efficiency." Adams asked in disbelief. "Let me see that…" He looked summarily impressed. "So it is. That's amazing."

"Least I could do…" Tali muttered noncommittally.

"Amazing seems to be the word whenever Tali's around, eh?" Kenneth got a light smack on his arm for that, courtesy of Gabby, who was smiling despite it.

They all turned around, however, at the sound of commotion just outside the corridor.

"-Give you the right to be insubordinate!" Tali resisted the urge to groan; Kaidan.

"With all due respect, Major, I was given no orders to the contrary of _saving the mission_." Aside from the enunciation, by contrast, Davisson sounded rather calm.

"Just because you know something that might be helpful doesn't mean you can run your mouth when you feel like it! There's a chain of command for a reason, and you are to inform me before jumping headfirst into something like that."

"Sir, yes sir."

"…Was there anything else?"

"…No sir." His tone seemed to imply that yes, there were several more things he would like to say, but all of them would end with a relief of duty.

"…Just get back to your quarters." Tali resisted the urge to laugh. It might have been for something completely different, but in a childish sort of way it was nice that someone was getting Kaidan frustrated. She heard footsteps fading in the distance and with a jolt realized he was coming in.

"Ugh…" She finally gave in and let out a groan. She wasn't sure she was ready to deal with this quite yet.

"Creator Tali'Zorah, if you would prefer that I forestall a confrontation with Spectre Alenko, my frame is large for a reason." Jeddah's voice came in over her private comm channel, and she was sorely tempted to take it up on its offer.

"No…" She responded, the opening of the engine room door drowning it out. "I'll handle it."

Notably, none of the crewmen said anything when Kaidan stepped in. Not that she would exactly appreciated backup, but it would've been a nice thought.

"Tali…" Well. He at least sounded apologetic. That was a start.

"Major Alenko." She said casually, keeping her eyes on her work.

"I wanted to ap-"

"Don't worry about it." She cut him off hurriedly. "It's fine."

"You're…not angry?" He sounded confused.

She turned on him, and his face turned quickly to surprise, then mild fear. She supposed she looked rather threatening just then. "Not angry? _Not angry?_ Keelah, I'm absolutely furious! You all but lied to me about the most important thing you possibly could have told me, nearly got us killed with lack of information, and now you're coming down here acting as though some half-assed apology can just fix that as easily as I can fix a drive core?"

"I…I wasn-"

"Jeddah!" She cut him off again. "In the event of a major overload, how quickly can I bring this drive core back to operational capacity?"

"Twenty-seven point eight nine seconds, Creator Tali'Zorah." The geth responded immediately.

"Damn straight." She nodded, pointing accusingly at Kaidan, pushing her finger into his clothing. "Right now I think you're heedless, idiotic, and most importantly incompetent. And no amount of apologizing is going to just 'fix' what's going on until I am ready to accept it. And none of that matters right now because I don't need your apology anyway."

Kaidan looked pained, trying to find words for, well, something. "Tali, I-"

"Kaidan…" Third time's the charm. "Shut up. We've been through too much for this to be necessary. Just…give me some time so we can get back to normal. And if you could be more considerate about who needs to know what in the future, that'd be great."

"I…whah?"

"Now, if you've got anything else to bring up, it'll have to wait." She made a shoo'ing motion at him towards the exit. "I'm in the middle of some calibrations."

She waited for Kaidan to finally stop being shell-shocked and leave, then chuckled and activated her omni-tool. She definitely needed that.

"Something you need, Tali?" Garrus came in on the other end of the comm link.

"Yes, I'm sending you fifty credits."

"What? Why?"

She smirked under her mask. "Royalties."

* * *

Davisson would have liked to say he was busy. Really. It would have looked good on a report and been an excellent way to avoid conversation besides. But, in actuality, he was bored out of his mind. His gear was clean and squared away, his quarters were spotless, and he was on his fourth game of solitaire. It just wasn't fun after you learned how to hack it. So, when Liara walked in, he was really very pleased for the company.

"Dr. T'Soni." He nodded, at least making the effort to keep it casual.

"Colonel Davisson." She responded in kind. He was impressed by her manner, really. Formal, yet…at ease, too.

He waited for her to say something. After a moment, he had a feeling he'd be waiting a while. "In lieu of awkward silence, maybe you could pull up a seat. I don't have a lot of prothean ruins in here, but there's bound to be something interesting to scrounge up."

That at least got a hint of a smile out of her. Or maybe that was a grimace. He'd forgotten how much more difficult decent poker faces made his life. She sat nearby, looking suddenly more like a psychologist than an archaeologist. Maybe that was just his imagination.

"I have to admit, your file didn't say anything about your problems with authority." She said ponderously.

"Oh, is that all? Well, I should tell you that my 'file' will tell you next to nothing. And my problem lies with taking people seriously, not authority." If that was what she was fishing for, she'd have a different conversation on her hands than what she imagined if he had a say.

"Taking them seriously?" She asked.

"Results, Doctor. That's what I look for in a commanding officer. I could care less if we like each other, as long as we both get our jobs done." He left out how high his standards were intentionally.

"You think Kaidan is incompetent?" He took note of her reference to him as 'Kaidan'.

"There's no denying he can _get_ results. He just feels…" He searched for the right term.

"New at this." She supplied. "Being in charge."

He nodded. "Yeah. I guess Spectres are usually solo acts. This can't be his idea of a good time." He came to the realization and suddenly felt a bit guilty. "I doubt my antics are helping."

"Like your last four commanding officers?" My, she _did_ read his file. Deeply, too.

"Let's just say I'm not a stellar definition of 'professional'. But if you dug that deep, you'll also know perfectly well why I'm here."

"Yes." She admitted. "Your list of commendations almost crashed my omni-tool. It says a lot about someone when a Star of Terra is among their least impressive feats."

He grimaced. "Yeah, well, no need to dig too deeply into the past."

"There are always things in the past that we want to keep hidden." She stood up, apparently done with the conversation for now. He wasn't. Not that it mattered.

"Despite your not stellar professionalism, remember that you are on a team, now." The door to his quarters slid open. "And this team doesn't need another Torfan."

She turned just in time to see his look of shock. That had been low.

Bitch.

* * *

"Uh, Joker to away-team? You guys might want to take a look at this. Now."

The message rang to the communications devices of each of the seven teammates several minutes later, and all of them rushed to the cockpit as quickly as possible.

"What is it, Joker?" Kaidan was the first to arrive, Davisson and Liara right behind him. He noticed that each kept glancing at the other. He pushed it to the back of his mind; he'd deal with it later.

"Distress call from Lesuss. Looks like a ship in orbit. It's getting hit hard by a pirate vessel. A big one, from what I can tell from this distance." Joker began transmitting the message aloud just as Garrus and Tali arrived.

"Attention all friendly nearby vessels, this is Lieutenant Renar Vakarian of the turian ship _Victorious_," Garrus' blood ran cold, and he managed to ignore every last one of the others looking at him like he'd just jumped off a moon. "We are under attack. We have suffered heavy damage to primary systems, and we cannot last much longer without assistance. Please respond."

"Um." Joker looked around at the rest of the team. "Not to put a damper on the rescue mission, but did he just say his name was-"

"I'll explain later." Garrus said quickly. "Right now I'm taking executive command of local combat operations until such time as my ship is either destroyed or secured. Any complaints can be forwarded out the airlock." It looked as though his position would in fact pay off. "Joker, take us in. Jeddah, EDI, keep the ship running. Liara, go down and keep an eye on Shepard. Everyone else, suit up and meet me back here in five."

"We have a job to do."


	6. Chapter 6: Rescue, Part 1

**[Author's Note: First off, I'd just like to thank everyone who's followed me from the start and/or continues to read chapter after chapter of this journey of mine. Getting nearly a thousand views means more to me than can be expressed.**

**I'm sure all of you have a lot of questions; What's the deal with Davisson? What's the deal with Kerrin Solus? Why is Deshayla so epic? What the **_**hell**_** is the deal with Renar and Garrus? Well, this chapter…will probably not answer any of those (hopefully the explosions and gunfire will make up for that).**

**Just as an official reminder: This wonderful, amazing, incredible, imaginative, whole-ton-more-adjectives-I-can't-think-of universe and a vast majority of its inhabitants (read: those I haven't made myself) all belong to Bioware and EA Games, as does the credit for the main idea of this story (Shepard).]**

_"Ah yes, 'mercenaries'…"_

In truth, it took them significantly less than five minutes to prepare for an engagement, mostly due to the proximity of the armory and lack of questions aimed at Garrus after his instructions. So far, it looked like his authority was holding.

They did, however, take enough time to allow Joker to close in on the battle. The _Victorious_ looked even worse up close - several huge gaps had been rent in the hull, flames raced along the inside stations before being extinguished by space, and the engines barely had enough life left to flicker occasionally, but not enough to offer propulsion.

When they saw the Blue Suns ship, they understood why.

The dreadnought was massive, easily twice the size of the cruiser it was engaging. The mounted weaponry it sported fired charge after charge at the failing kinetic barriers of the turian vessel. The most impressive part of the entire battle was that the _Victorious_ had managed to survive at all against that kind of firepower. But from the looks of things, it wouldn't last long.

"I'm guessing you want us to do something more than just hang around and watch." Joker prompted, bringing the Normandy closer to the fray.

"Affirmative." Garrus said shortly. "Get us in as close as possible to the dreadnought's engine room and make a hole with the Thanix. Then make a circle and try to evacuate what's left of the crew. EDI, get me a link to the lieutenant's comm line."

In short order, he heard the sounds of shouting, explosions, and general commotion from the other end. "Lieutenant!" He shouted over the noise, closing the airlock door behind him and the others. "This is Admiral Vakarian, do you copy?"

The response was filled with as much relief as Garrus felt hearing it. "Yes, sir! Our communications haven't been destroyed yet, but we can't hold much longer."

"That problem will be solved shortly. Continue evasive maneuvers as long as you can. Casualty report? Where's Commander Basilius?"

Dread filled him when there was no immediate reply, and he knew what the answer was going to be when he heard it. "He…he's dead, sir. So are Ferox and Oeneus. As best I can tell, we only have thirty survivors. And most of them are with me."

If Garrus had been holding a tangible communications device, he would have dropped it. The _Victorious_ had a crew of more than one hundred and twenty. He found himself unconsciously going down the list of names he knew, which was all of them, trying to figure who had been most likely to die in the initial attacks. He discarded that thought; he needed to stay focused on the mission. "Congratulations on your battlefield promotion." For now, he tried to hide his horror with dry wit. It wasn't working.

"I think I'd rather just accept a posthumous medal if something doesn't go right quickly, sir." Renar, on the other hand, pulled it off marvelously. "Where are you now?"

He felt the Normandy jolt underneath him, and heard the main gun fire into the hull of the dreadnought. The outer airlock door opened in front of them to a shiny new hole near the engine deck. "Entry point's wide open." Joker said. "Good luck."

"Right now I'm on the Normandy. In five seconds I'll be on that dreadnought, saving your ass." He told Renar. "Get everyone to the closest airlock or hole for evac."

Then he jumped.

Landing wasn't the hard part. The low gravity in the surrounding area wasn't, either. Hell, even blasting through a dozen Blue Suns goons didn't give Garrus pause. By far, his greatest difficulties came from actually aiming while his hands were shaking so much. He'd kept his calm in many a situation. That was part of the job. But right now, just one minute could mean the difference between saving or losing the entirety of his crew. These mercenaries had taken the lives of almost a hundred of his men. He was _not_ calm. His hands weren't shaking with anxiety.

They were shaking with pure rage.

None of that put off decades of combat training and experience. Every time a merc showed themselves, a new hole opened up in their skulls. He was unflinching, he was efficient, and neither his aim or his feet stopped moving. He trusted his companions to clean up after him, but there was nothing to clean up. Just a trail of bodies in his wake. He was hardly surprised to find the engine room door locked, but Tali put her omni-tool atop the opening mechanism and the engine room revealed itself with a soft hiss.

Due to size of the ship alone, the room was huge. Catwalks and stairs ran in multiple directions, up and down to several levels. The drive core and the numerous readout panels were atop a large shaft-like structure that connected to the bottom floor via a long ladder. Oh, and of course, there were the Blue Suns engineers shooting at them.

Tali launched a defense drone that was met in midair by several others, and both she and Kaidan opened fire on several mercenaries on their level. Davisson, meanwhile, joined Garrus with several pinpoint strikes aimed at the enemies above them, both snipers ruthlessly enforcing the 'one shot, one kill' doctrine.

"Davisson, Tali!" Garrus shouted over the gunfire. "Get to that drive core and shut it down, now! Take as many systems down with it as you can!"

One mercenary slid down the ladder to the aforementioned drive core controls. Davisson blinked out of sight next to Garrus and reappeared with an omni-blade lodged deep into the Batarian. Garrus was mildly impressed by the display, behind his anger. Mildly. He could have done that.

Tali was only fazed for a moment, quickly dodging through the firefight to follow the marine up the ladder. In the distance, Garrus heard the sound of cannons warming up for another volley. "Hurry!" He yelled.

Davisson reached the top first, and wasted no time in helping Tali climb the rest of the way. He took his sniper rifle back out and covered her with selective fire. Any mercenary that so much as aimed at either one died in short order. As did the sound of the dreadnought's guns.

"Done!" Tali's words were met with the sound of the drive core powering down, as well as the shields, the lights, the life support systems, and the kinetic barriers. The only thing she didn't turn off was the gravity. Spirits, but he'd missed having the quarian on hand.

"Fantastic." Davisson said. "Uh…now what?"

"We need a way to destroy th-" Kaidan was cut off by what felt like thunder in the back of the ship.

"Propulsion?" Garrus asked.

"Impossible, I turned the engines off!" Tali turned the lights back on and turned towards where the vibrations appeared to be emanating from. It felt as though whatever was causing them was getting closer.

"I _swear to God_, if they have a thresher maw or something, I'm calling it now. Growing a beard and moving to Omega." Davisson growled.

A crackle came off of Garrus' radio as a new channel attempted to broadcast over his omni-tool. Turian signal. He let it through and listened in, transmitting it between the rest of the team.

"Attention cruiser _Victorious_, this is Admiral Beran Empyreus of the capital ship _Dawnstar_. We have received your distress call and are engaging the hostile mercenary ship. Stand by for evacuation procedures."

All four of them stood stunned.

"Why is it whenever I'm on an enemy ship trying to help someone, they start shooting at it?" Tali asked sardonically.

"Capital ship _Dawnstar!_" Garrus shouted into the radio. "This is Admiral Garrus Vakarian! We are aboard the hostile vessel, I repeat, _aboard the hostile vessel_! Cease fire immediately!"

"Vakarian?" The rumbling was getting closer to them, and the Admiral sounded suspicious. "What are you doing on the Blue Suns ship?"

"Dammit, Empyreus, stop shooting at us or I will spacewalk over there and beat you with your own head fringe!" Garrus had been about to respond, but when Davisson cut in, he merely sputtered in shock. This, however, apparently got Empyreus' attention. The floor stopped shaking immediately.

"Davisson." The tone in which the Admiral said his name made Garrus wonder whether the turian was deciding whether to hug or shoot him. "I see you are still in the thick of things."

"Old habits die hard. Now bring-" The drive core whirred loudly as it came back online, and all of them heard the main cannons warming up again.

"There must be an auxiliary control unit on the bridge!" Tali said desperately. "I'm locked out!"

"They're charging! Resume fire!" Empyreus' voice faded slightly, as though he had turned away from the comm line to speak to someone behind him. Rumbles once again filled the ship, and Garrus shot off every curse he could think of. He made to run into the engine room for a better group position to fight off whatever might come their way next, and his head bounced off a closed door.

"What the hell…" He heard Kaidan mutter, then a strangled shout just before he lost all sense of hearing. A grenade he hadn't even noticed before then detonated under him, bouncing his body off the roof of the hall and setting all the vital signs he could still see on his HUD into the red.

He fell back to the floor ungracefully and turned around on his back with no small amount of effort. Three white-armored men were walking towards him, two of them flicking out of sight erratically. He realized that he was simply seeing triple, and also that, however concussed he might be, the Blue Suns did not wear white uniforms. He glanced at Kaidan, who appeared to be out cold, if not dead. A uniformed glove rose, bringing a pistol to bear with it. It looked so familiar, like something he vaguely remembered from the past. He heard the man say something, probably a witty one-liner before shooting him, but every sound was still distorted, except his heartbeat. _That_ he could hear quite clearly, while it lasted.

His head fell back, and he looked bemusedly at a black codpiece from his new position. There was a flash of light, and he heard something hit the ground nearby. Slowly, his disorientation receded, and he heard Tali muttering something.

"-Locks on their doors."

"I know what you…nngh…mean." Davisson responded, hefting Garrus to his feet, then moving to check on Kaidan. "_I_ probably could have tapped that, for Christ's sake."

"I imagine you tap a lot of things, Davisson." Her smirk was audible.

"Oh, ha ha. If you're hitting on me, you need to get in line. Behind the krogan."

"Something tells me that a krogan and I don't have the same type."

"The ruggedly handsome, battle-ready, talented kind?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'raging thrill-seeker with too much ego', actually."

"Eh, either or." Garrus saw a finger wave around in from of his facemask. "Okay, smack this if you're coherent."

He batted the hand away and checked his injuries. His armor was applying medi-gel, but he had several puncture wounds and his systems were spotty. He doubted he would do as well in another fight he wasn't ready for, or on the receiving end of an enormous capital ship's weapons. At least Kaidan couldn't feel anything right now. He almost fell over again when he felt another blast shaking the ship thanks to the _Dawnstar's _weapons. The blasts were getting closer, now.

Davisson checked his omni-tool and moved it sideways through the air, and suddenly Garrus felt less like he was riddled with holes and more like he'd just taken a bath. "That should do…" The marine muttered. "For both of you. But the Major is still out. We should probably go before we get blasted." Garrus exhaled in relief; Kaidan was still alive.

"Keelah." Tali gasped. She was kneeling next to the trooper that Davisson shot. "Look at this."

She lifted one of the soldier's shoulders, and light caught on the insignia he wore. Garrus groaned, closing his eyes. Just what he needed.

"That's a Cerberus symbol." Davisson said angrily. "What the hell are they doing back? I thought they were wiped out?"

Garrus' thoughts flashed back to the Illusive Man, his words to Shepard on the Cerberus station. _Cerberus is an idea…_

"Not wiped out." He said. "Hiding, maybe, but they're still out there. And I doubt they're happy to see us."

"Working with the Blue Suns?" Tali looked up. "That seems desperate, even for them."

"We know firsthand they're not above working with other races if it means they meet their goals." Garrus stepped forward and grabbed Kaidan's legs. "Colonel, help me out here."

Davisson nodded and helped him carry their unconscious 'team leader' down the corridor. Tali activated another signal broadcast and radioed in the Normandy. "Normandy, come in. We need an evac. Now."

"Uhh, yeah, you guys want me to just dodge that giant laser beam they're firing?" Joker's question was rhetorical. He couldn't get them out of there this late.

Said giant laser beam immediately ripped a massive hole past the hallway ahead of them, where the engine room's other door was. To Garrus' amazement, Davisson stopped moving. Another blast nearly deafened them, barely seventeen meters from where they stood.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted. "We need to go, now!"

"Flight Lieutenant Moreau won't be able to pick us up until the fire passes, and if Empyreus isn't stopping…ten by five…okay. Run _back_ to the engine room on my mark!"

"You're insane!" Garrus yelled, drowned out by yet another blast, almost right in front of them this time. The heat alone drained his shields nearly to the breaking point. He dreaded the outcome of being hit directly.

"Mark!" Davisson ignored him and sprinted towards the area where the hull had just been pierced. There wasn't much of a choice now. Tali and Garrus followed with Kaidan in tow, though in that case at least he had no idea the danger they were walking in to.

Barely four seconds after they started moving, the guns hit them again. All four of them were propelled forward by the concussive force, but Davisson was right on the money - none of them were caught directly in the blast. Assuming Empyreus didn't fire backwards just to make sure, they were safe. For now.

"Well." Tali commented dryly, looking out into space. "At least we have a brand new hole to jump out of."

"How did you know when to move?" Garrus asked.

Davisson shrugged. "Ten meters up, five seconds, fire. Rhythmic, rigid, effective. Turian firing patterns are really easy to figure out, they don't deviate."

"…And just like that, the magic is gone." Garrus grumbled. "Nice work."

He got a chuckle in return. "When all you've got is a brain…" He tapped his omni-tool. "Moreau! Sending coordinates. Pick us up. You know, when you have the spare time."

"We need to get moving immediately." Garrus warned. "If the Blue Suns are attacking the _Victorious _ in orbit here, they're bound to know Dr. Solus is on the planet's surface. They might already be there."

The Normandy rose vertically in front of them, airlock opened. Davisson tossed Kaidan inside and jumped, nodding. "You're right. No rest for the weary. Feels like the good old days."

The Normandy couldn't move immediately to drop a team on Lesuss for two reasons: First, they needed to move quickly to finish evacuating the survivors of the _Victorious_, and secondly, apparently Admiral Empyreus wanted to speak directly with them. Clearly a fun conversation was about to ensue.

"Empyreus!" Davisson said happily when the turian entered. He was given a 'don't push me, human' glare. Renar, Garrus and Tali were already standing around the briefing room table with him, and those three couldn't help but stand at attention. The two-and-a-third meter high turian was an impressive sight in his heavy armor, Black Widow strapped to his back and piercing blue eyes staring at them through a scarred face. His aura of command and experience was practically tangible.

"Admiral Vakarian." He nodded curtly to Garrus, and simply looked vaguely in Davisson's direction. Renar and Tali were barely noticed at all. "Perhaps an explanation is in order. Why were you on that Blue Suns vessel?"

"I was trying to stop the assault on the _Victorious_." Garrus replied sheepishly. It felt so much like his father reprimanding him that his eyes fell involuntarily.

"As opposed to staying aboard?"

"I wasn't aboard when it was engaged."

Empyreus' eyes narrowed. "Then that raises another interesting question of why you abandoned your vessel." Renar's gaze snapped on to the superior officer, and while he was wise enough to not speak out of turn, he still looked personally offended. So was Garrus.

"Trying to save the galaxy from the latest Reaper plot. You?" Not the wisest course, to snark at him, but Garrus, too, was an Admiral, and damned if he was going to be insulted like that.

Empyreus sighed. "Some might say your fascination with the Reapers wears thin."

"And what do you say?" Garrus asked.

"I say that those people would be of no great loss should they be shot." Empyreus said darkly. "I was there when Palaven burned, as you were. I still remember the threat they posed…pose, if you are correct."

"_If _I am correct?" Garrus began heatedly.

Empyreus held up a hand. "It s not such a small chance as it may seem. For example, clearly your judgment isn't lacking." He idly motioned to Garrus' left. He glanced at Tali, then realized the talons had flicked at _Davisson_. What was going on there?

"But my curiosity is not fully sated. What were you doing here?" He asked of Renar and Garrus both.

Garrus spoke first. "There's a salarian geneticist on the planet's surface, Dr. Kerrin Solus. We need his help for our mission."

"And you…?" Empyreus' words held two questions, both of which were answered.

"Lieutenant Renar, sir. We answered a distress beacon coming from the planet while on a patrol route."

"Was it this Dr. Solus?"

"No, sir…it was a turian scout ship." Garrus perked up. This was interesting; he hadn't seen any sign of another ship. "Or, we thought it was. The Blue Suns were waiting for us when we arrived. They must have sent out the distress call themselves."

"Ugh..." Tali muttered. "Is that turian distress call trick ever _not_ going to work for Cerberus traps?"

"Cerberus?" Empyreus' mandibles clicked in agitation. Then he finally turned to speak with Davisson directly. "Did you know about this, Commander?" Wait. _Commander?_

"Hadn't the slightest damn clue." Davisson didn't look too pleased about the fact. "And it's just Colonel, now."

"If Cerberus is involved, then we don't have time to waste." Empyreus pointed at Garrus. "Get down to whatever medical bay this ship has, Vakarian. You look like you lost a fight with a krogan. Send a team to meet mine at Dr. Solus' location."

"Actually, we don't know where that-" Garrus began, but Tali's omni-tool beeped loudly.

She looked around. "Oh, sorry. I was busy finding the Doctor while everyone else was posturing."

Empyreus glared at her, and started to speak when Davisson intervened. "Wouldn't want to waste your time, _Admiral Tali'Zorah_." He looked at the turian to make sure he'd gotten the hint. Based on his rapid and humorous change in expression from 'incensed' to 'child in trouble', he had.

"Admirals," Renar said suddenly, drawing eyes to him. "If a team is being formed for a strike on the men that organized this attack, I want to be part of it."

Garrus looked apprehensive, Empyreus slightly annoyed. "Of what use could you be to them?" The latter asked.

Before Renar could respond, Davisson cut in. "Ah hell, we can always use more guns. Plus, we're going to need a replacement if Admiral Vakarian's going to be in the medical bay for the whole mission."

Empyreus shrugged, seeming placated. Probably because Davisson said it, Garrus thought grumpily. "Very well. Admiral Vakarian?"

Garrus sighed, locking eyes with the Lieutenant. "Dare I ask why?"

"They lured us into a trap, killed my brothers-in-arms, and are probably attempting to eliminate an important asset as we speak, from what you've said. Even worse, they scratched the paint on your ship." Renar's anger showed in his eyes, but not his voice. He appeared determined to keep a level head…for now. "Someone needs to make sure they are all brought to justice."

"Be careful where justice leads, Lieutenant." Garrus whispered, then nodded slowly. "You'll be of use to the team."

"Back to our old standard team of three, then?" Tali asked.

"Not necessarily, Tali." Liara leaned against the entrance to the briefing room, then motioned behind her. "I heard Garrus was going to be taking a rest in the medical bay, and I am ready for combat."

"Well, great." Davisson said. "We can always use more biotics."

Renar flared his mandibles in the turian equivalent of a grin and swirled a mass effect field around his talon. "Good to hear."


	7. Chapter 7: Rescue, Part 2

_"I only remember keeping you safe…jury's out on whether I succeeded."_

The four of them were in the atmosphere in barely any time at all, but Davisson was nervous. They had to stop the Blue Suns or Cerberus or who the hell ever was down there, obviously, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they may not have enough time to actually find the Doctor and keep him out of harm's way. That would be just his luck; reunite with Empyreus, eliminate the mercs, save the laboratory, lose the Doctor.

At least now he wouldn't have to deal with _all _ the blame if this went s-

"So what are our orders, Colonel?" Renar asked, double-checking (or, if he still knew turians, octuple-checking) his weaponry.

Ohhh _shit_.

"I didn't give it much thought. I assumed Empyreus was going to be in charge." Hopefully that would smooth things ov-

"Not taking a chance to bark orders, Davisson? I'm so disappointed." To his horror, the Admiral himself came in on the team's frequency, sounding amused. Garrus must have given it to him. _Dammit!_

"I'm not even close to the best suited for command, here." He said uncertainly, hoping Tali would take the opportunity.

She did, just not the one he was thinking of. "If you're thinking of rank and experience, this situation isn't my area of expertise unless the Blue Suns are going to swarm us with mechs." She was right, but he didn't have to like it.

"And I have my own team to look after." Empyreus added.

"Fine." Davisson grumbled. "Admiral Zorah, stay out of the direct fire zone. Cover us with drones and stick to your sidearm. Close combat would be a death sentence without backup. Lieutenant, Doctor, cover me with biotics of you see someone I'm not cutting down. Take opposite sides of the flank and bring the pain for anyone trying to do the same. If you start to run out of energy, bunker down and shoot like you mean it."

Ah, he remembered that part. He didn't like remembering that part. What came next was even worse. He saw Liara nodding silently, looking curiously at him. He couldn't see Tali's expression, of course, and Renar had the classic turian posture of 'as tough as possible with this stick up my ass'. Clearly, this was going to be fun as all hell. Literally.

"We have a problem, Colonel!" He heard Cortez in the pilot's seat just after he'd started to settle in, and felt like shooting the floor immediately. Of course there was a problem. They were surrounded by problems. What else was new?

"What is it, Cortez?" _May as well ask, _he thought.

"Looks like the fight started without us. I'm seeing several dead security guards by the front entrance to the monastery, no sign of the invading force."

"The monastery?" Liara turned in her seat. "That's where Dr. Solus has his lab?"

"I guess they cleared out the corpses and debris a while ago." Tali said.

"You said this was an ardat-yakshi monastery, right?" Liara nodded in response to Davisson's question. "Could be some of the inhabitants are already giving them a fight. Empyreus!" He made sure that channel was still open. "I think we have a chance of flanking them with the asari."

"And we can still fight on two fronts." Davisson saw the other turian shuttle fly around the other side of the area before touching down. "There is another entrance here. Perhaps a back exit. We will proceed inside and attack them. With any luck, we will meet in the middle with the bodies of the Blue Suns surrounding us."

"Sounds like a hell of a deal. I'll hold you to it."

"Spirits guide you, Davisson. Empyreus out."

Tali and Liara looked at each other, then Davisson. Apparently they were trying to work out who was going to ask him first. Tali apparently took the initiative more quickly. "Are you going to tell us…?"

"Nope!" Davisson said cheerfully, drawing his shot-rifle. Cortez brought their shuttle to ground level and the four of them piled out, getting a feel for their surroundings. The landing area was strewn with bodies, most of them wearing blue armor if they hadn't been melted down to the point that they were unrecognizable. A few krogan joined them, probably the defense force, Davisson guessed. He had a feeling Deshayla wasn't the only one on Solus' payroll.

"It looks like they put up a fight." Renar commented. "They died in battle, like true krogan."

Davisson avoided rolling his eyes. He'd hoped to run into a turian besides the legendarily informal Admiral Vakarian who _wasn't_ a walking stereotype, but apparently no such luck. Polite, order-following, uptight, all about honor…it was just too much to ask, wasn't it? He rolled his shoulders and followed his brain down a different line, though. He'd barely even met the young lieutenant, so he shouldn't judge based on appearances. After all, he heavily doubted he was the only one with secrets. Speaking of…

"So, feel like passing the time talking about ancestry, LT?"

"No." Eh, fair enough.

Tali stepped over an ash pile next to a rocket launcher that either belonged to one krogan or five men. The main entrance was sealed…it seemed too little, too late to Davisson if enemies were already inside, but he doubted they just forgot to bring along tech support. He leveled his weapon at the door when she crouched and the heavily encrypted lock flashed green almost immediately. Of course, no merc was as good as _their_ tech support.

The door opened smoothly, but there was no one behind it. Just an empty elevator. Small, open, perfect for being ambushed. Great. "All aboard."

The elevator lowered slowly in comparison to, say, the SR-3's system, but it didn't exactly look stable to begin with. Eventually, an open room stretched in front of them. It, too, was empty, though more bodies littered the floor. Several were intact, without any signs of what had killed them.

"Oh, thank the Goddess!" Liara breathed, and Davisson looked more closely around him.

"What?" He asked. "Survivors?"

"No, they have the lights working this time."

"I know." Tali said reminiscently. "Our last visit was like an old horror vid."

"Now it kind of reminds me of that time on Aphras." Davisson said offhandedly.

Liara looked confused. "What?"

"Exactly. Someone check their omni-tools, see about their recent orders." Tali nodded and started scanning a fairly fresh Batarian, unlocking his data in moments.

"Hm. They had resistance, all right. Lots of krogan, based on the audio…and then this." She transmitted the recorded message to everyone else, and Davisson listened in to the sudden sounds of a past battle…

Shotgun blasts, grenade explosions, and the sounds of biotics assaulted his ears, incoherent screams and vague orders occasionally rising over the din. He heard a Batarian shouting over it all though, and he assumed this was his final transmission.

"This is Kotar! Send reinforcements down NOW! They're tearing us to shred- AAAGH!" The sound of a shot impacting flesh cut him off, but apparently he didn't stop the message. The sounds of battle were slowing down now, and it sounded like the defenders had all but won the battle.

"Not so quickly, mercenary." A soft female voice corresponded with approaching footsteps, and the hum of a constant biotic field accompanied both.

The Batarian shouted incoherently and scrabbled against the floor, trying to flee. His words became even less clear when it sounded like someone grabbed him by the throat.

"This place will not fall to you." The woman spoke again, and the Batarian stopped trying to cry out, contenting himself with just trying to breathe, but unsuccessfully. "May you find peace in the embrace of the Goddess."

Davisson recoiled at the next sound, one that sounded like some great force had just crushed his head into a pulp. Well, that was one way to shut somebody up.

"That sounded familiar…" Liara turned to look at Tali when the recording stopped.

"There's only one asari I know who can kill you _that_ serenely." Tali sounded…reluctant to proceed.

"Nice that we're all meeting up with old friends today. We should probably get moving." Davisson thumbed to a nearby doorway. It appeared to be covered in blood. How nice. Then it opened, revealing a human wearing scorched armor, face covered in sweat.

The Blue Suns vanguard looked as surprised to see them as they were to see her. Unfortunately for everyone involved, she had just come from a fight and was slightly quicker on the uptake. She hit them all with a wave of biotic energy that sent the quartet flying. Tali hit a wall hard - _again_ - Liara disappeared behind some furniture, Renar hit the deck and Davisson not only went spinning enough times to get vertigo, but saw stars when his own helmet committed treason by plotting with the floor to smack him on the head. He made a note to discharge it later.

"I'm gonna kill all of you motherfuckers!" The vanguard shouted. At least she had a winning personality. She tossed one of those annoying blue orbs straight at Davisson, but underestimated his biotic turian fr- wait, turian?

Renar knocked the throw off course and rolled to a standing position, facing the mercenary down calmly. She glared at him contemptuously, and curved her arm downwards. Blue ripples turned into a long snake-like explosive chain reaction that looked like a speeding train. Renar, however, saw it coming, and launched the exact same thing at what was apparently a perfect angle.

The two shockwaves met in the center of the room and bounced off one another with an explosion that almost knocked everyone down again. Debris fell from the roof as it caved in, forcing the mercenary to flinch. It gave Renar just enough of an opening to wear down her barrier with a biotic pull, but it wasn't entirely successful. She brought her arm back for a repeat performance, and the Lieutenant charged her like a raging krogan.

She laughed madly and threw another shockwave directly at him. Renar dove headfirst forward, catching the floor with one hand and leaping over the effect, twisting in midair and sliding to a stop just underneath her, shotgun armed.

She blinked down at him. "That's not fucking-" He didn't let her finish; what was left of her head now added to the room's décor.

Davisson stood up and looked around. Anything that wasn't already destroyed by the previous firefight had been thrown everywhere by the concussive blast and three wild shockwaves. A painting fell to the floor nearby. He looked down at the turian and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'm pretty sure half of what you just did was blatantly impossible, but I care even less than apparently the laws of physics because it was just that impressive."

He reached a hand down and pulled Renar up. "Thanks, sir." He nodded.

"Welcome to the team..." Davisson said absently, looking back at the two women, who were still in the process of standing. "Anyone get that on vid?" They glared at him. "Just checking." He chuckled.

"We should follow that doorway." Liara pointed out. "Based on the appearance of that vanguard, I would guess that is where the survivors are, if at all."

"Got it, secure the doorway." Davisson reactivated the inter-team channel. "Empyreus, do you copy? What's your status?"

Unfortunately, sounds of gunfire were abound on the other end. "The great hall! Under heavy fire! Now would be an excellent time for you to start that flanking maneuver!"

"You heard him, ladies gentlemen and Liara." He ignored the asari's expression at that and loaded some anti-shield rounds. "You all remember the plan; let's get going."

The great hall was in utter chaos. At least twenty Blue Suns troops were keeping what looked like a small group - maybe seven or eight people - pinned behind a collection of makeshift cover. As they watched, a krogan stood up from cover and immediately took a shot to the head, falling backwards with a howl of pain. Fortunately, none of their enemies appeared to have noticed the four heavily armed spec. ops (for all intents and purposes, anyway) behind them. Yet.

"Well this just got complicated." Davisson mumbled. "Tactics stay the same, people. Admiral, cover me."

He activated his cloaking device and the miniaturized entanglement field within, and appeared right next to a Batarian who looked like he was fielding the operation. One judicious stab with his omni-blade took care of that problem, and immediately he heard mixed shouts of confusion and anger. Bullets whizzed past his head and towards his team, but they were already in position. Liara sent soldiers flying to his left, and Renar mowed down nearly as many to his right with a Revenant.

One of the engineers caught on to his presence and started firing wildly at him, then screamed girlishly when a drone shocked him. It was nice to have a quarian watching your back. One of the asari behind cover took advantage of the momentary confusion and raised a biotic field in the middle of a cluster, lifting five troopers into the air helplessly. Davisson raised his rifle and put a round in each one's head. It was almost trivial.

How he loved biotics.

Then he felt something hit his side and went flying hard into a pillar. Correction: He loved biotics when they were on _his_ team. He saw Empyreus raise a weapon out of the corner of his eye, and the biotic was dead before he hit the floor. Liara froze another in his tracks, and Renar simultaneously shot him in the head, dove forward to avoid a grenade from a soldier, and sent a biotic field flying. He was already behind cover when the field impacted, sending the soldier flying upward to the ceiling of the great hall and then back to the ground in the blink of an eye. His brains coated the floor along with the blood of his comrades.

Davisson made sure he had a firm grip on his rifle and put down suppressive fire on three 'Suns who had been smart and taken cover. It looked as though Tali was trying to get around to a decent position, but a commando came out from around a corner and brought her shields down with a shotgun blast. Sheer combat experience kept her alive. She dodged the next blast and hacked into his shield network with her omni-tool, restoring hers instantly, but lowering the commando's in return. Her Arc Pistol flashed, and he screamed as he was electrocuted.

A Blue Suns sniper stood out of cover and fired directly at Davisson's helmet, but his weapon simply clicked and did nothing. He looked at it in confusion for one second too long, and Empyreus took him down. Her sabotage job finished, Tali crouched behind a pew.

Renar tossed a grenade behind them, and both the remaining troopers flew helplessly into the air, where Liara finished them off with a reactive explosion from her biotics. The last mercenary, apparently realizing he had no chance, desperately charged at Davisson, omni-blade open. He tried to raise his rifle, but was too slow…

He braced himself for impact, but the merc just stopped in his tracks. A small brown hand pushed the tip of a syringe into his neck, and he collapsed in a heap. No longer blocked from view, the salarian casually slid the empty needle into a sack on his belt. He wore a standard doctor's outfit, and his face - light brown tinged with red - was youthful, but weary. He offered Davisson a hand up, which he accepted. The salarian was stronger than he looked, and had little trouble with the haul.

"It's good to see another friendly face in here." The salarian raised his hand to wave the others taking cover up, giving them the all-clear. "We might not have lasted much longer without you. Doctor Kerrin Solus, at your service."

"We've been looking for you, Doctor." Davisson nodded. Given he was the only salarian there, he was either the real deal or an assistant who would have no reason to lie anyways.

Kerrin chuckled. "I've noticed that quite a few people are looking for me. Not all of them particularly helpful." He motioned to the bodies surrounding them.

"This is not the place to have a conversation." That voice sounded familiar. An asari in red…_revealing_ armor stood next to Kerrin, retaining eye contact with the Colonel. She must have been the one from the earlier recording.

"Justicar Samara." Liara seemed humbled to be in the elder asari's presence, which seemed like a bonus.

"Doctor T'Soni." Samara responded calmly. Empyreus and three turians joined the gathering along with another asari and the rest of Davisson's team. Just a normal family gathering.

"She's right." Empyreus cut in. "We need to get off-planet."

"It should be easier with the dropship gone." Kerrin said happily. When no one responded (and quite a few looked guilty), his face feel a bit. "You…didn't destroy it, did you."

"Dreadnought, yes. Dropship, no." Davisson scowled and activated his link to the Normandy. "Lieutenant Moreau, come in."

"Joker here. Moreau's on coffee break, should be back in a few hours."

"Cute. We need you planetside. Apparently there's another ship to blow up."

This time, EDI responded. "I have thoroughly scanned the surface of the planet in your area, Colonel. There are no vessels nearby."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Empyreus snapped. "Why would they send in multiple squads and then leave before bringing them back? No one is that pessimistic about chances of success in an operation."

"However," EDI added. "Cerberus successfully produced a stealth core in the Normandy SR-2. It stands to reason they could replicate this result."

"Are you saying we're dealing with an _invisible Cerberus ship_?" Davisson summarily resisted the urge to bounce his helmet off the nearest wall a few times.

"That is inaccurate." EDI's calm demeanor wasn't helping. "They would not be detectible using LADAR systems, but it is possible to destroy them using line-of-sight fire."

"But that'll take a few tries, so you might want to buy us some time." Joker said.

"Fantastic. We'll just distract a dropship. Anyone have some rocks and a goddamn trebuchet?" Davisson growled.

"After hearing about this failure, they may send more reinforcements to the landing pad." Empyreus offered. "I can take the survivors out the back entrance and hold by our shuttle until the dropship is dealt with."

"That leaves us holding the line, then." Tali sighed. "We didn't exactly come expecting that."

"Maybe not, but we don't exactly hurt for firepower in any case." Renar put in.

"Still, I think we could do with reinforcements of our own." Liara glanced at Empyreus hopefully.

The Admiral sighed, waving one of his teammates forward. "Corporal Vaya, hold here and stay alive."

The Vaya in question, a female of slight build but somehow powerful presence, nodded her head and drew a Phalanx, clearly as ready for battle as possible.

Samara, too, stepped forward. "I will aid you in this. My duty is to protect the Doctor, and the monastery, and I will see it done."

The other asari took a step forward, looking pained. "Mother…"

"Falere." Samara's tone was still calm, but firm. "Stay with him." She fixed her gaze on Kerrin.

He nodded immediately. "I will keep her safe, Justicar. And myself as well, if the situation warrants."

"Do both." Davisson said. "You're crucial to our mission, so if you die I'm kicking your ass."

Kerrin laughed. "I'll keep that in mind." He followed Falere and the three turians out another corridor. There was silence in the room for a time, and Davisson wondered if everyone else was thinking about how to survive, like he was.

A beeping from his omni-tool caught his attention. He activated it. "What is it, Lieu-…Joker?"

"I'm staring the dropship in the face from the cockpit. EDI's lining up the algorithms for the Thanix, so it should be out of our way in a bit. But it just launched a few shuttles at the landing pad. Looks like you're gonna have company soon."

"Roger that." He looked around at the others. "Let's not keep them waiting."

"Get into that elevator, you two!" The commander pointed at two nearby vanguards, then to the monastery entrance. They didn't look too happy about being sent in first. Personally, he couldn't blame them. Professionally, stalling was going to piss him off. And they knew it. Without any delays, they opened the door.

Both bodies flew over his head, but he'd already ducked out of reflex when the elevator exploded from the inside. His last thought before the sniper round went through his skull was really a very creative multilingual curse he'd learned from his Batarian CO. He'd have been so proud.

Below them, Samara waited until the elevator hit the ground in front of her, then nodded to Laira and Renar. Both of them coated her in a biotic field and tossed her upwards, covering the distance to the platform and then releasing her to climb the ladders as Davisson had done cloaked moments ago. The Justicar activated her own biotic field, slowing her descent and landing majestically. She wasted no time in producing multiple other fields on the landing pad that were either anti-gravity or hyper-gravity. The mercenaries were stunned, panicked, and close together. It was a slaughter.

She took a step forward with every field she launched, and was soon standing in the center of the carnage. Blue Suns and Cerberus operatives swirled helplessly around her. By the time the others arrived, only one remained. Davisson took care of him in short order. Almost as an afterthought, she made sure anyone with her was shrouded in a barrier either by her doing or the others'. Then, she consumed her own biotic energy and let loose a powerful blast that caused the living enemies caught by her fields to explode and fly off into the distance.

She heard Davisson laugh behind her and turned. He was looking around them with a rather bemused expression. "Okay, if I'd known you were more effective than the bomb, this might have played out differently. Or exactly the same, as it were."

"Okay, here we go…" Joker's voice came in on their omni-tools, and the Normandy swooped overhead, cannon charging to full blast. In the air above them, the dropship (a Cerberus design, Samara realized) was still, almost appearing to be waiting. That made it easier.

A blue beam of energy shot from the Thanix weapon on the underside of the frigate, tearing straight through the middle of the dropship. Explosions burst through various holes in the hull, and it slowly fell to each.

"Yeah!" Joker whooped on the other end of the comm channel. "Take that, you Cerberus bastards!"

"Nice shooting, you two." Davisson changed his frequency and called in Empyreus' team. "Empyreus, this is Davisson. We are all clear, repeat, all clear."

"Affirmative. I'll see you back on the ship."

They stood looking at the falling wreckage of the dropship for a long while, admiring the destruction. Davisson looked around. "Uh. We're kind of in a hurry, people." He tapped his omni-tool once again. "Cortez, can we get a ride back?"

He glanced at his five companions. "You might have to make two trips."


	8. Chapter 8: Parting Gifts

_"You really thought I was going to let you walk away without settling this?"_

It didn't take long for everyone to get situated. A minor argument between Garrus and Empyreus had broken out as to whether they should discuss the mission in the briefing room, but Garrus refused to be elsewhere while Dr. Solus examined Shepard. Most of the away-team had returned to their posts, but Corporal Vaya, Liara, and Tali had all joined Empyreus, Solus, and Garrus in the med bay.

Dr. Chakwas was not especially pleased.

"You're not going to be very happy when half of us pass out due to lack of oxygen." She told Garrus sardonically as she had to squeeze between he and Tali for the third time.

"We should be here to listen to the prognosis." Liara said solemnly. "Whether it is good news or not."

"You could have just opened a comm frequency." Chakwas informed her.

"Nah, not the same." Joker said over the connection. "I mean, you guys would know right away if something went wrong, where I have to sit up here and ask 'What? What's going on?' like an idiot."

"I will need a reminder on why we found a geneticist for a Reaper matter." Empyreus eyed the Doctor suspiciously. So far, the salarian had checked all the records he could find and spent a lot of time staring at Shepard's body, and not very much time actually fixing anything, so it seemed.

"Four doctorates open a lot of doors." Davisson responded dryly on Joker's end of the conversation.

"That's correct, of course." Kerrin said absently. "But I will need to take a closer look at all available data. There is something about these readings…Reaper technology would also be useful, if you have any."

"I just love how he's asking for Reaper tech like I'd ask for coffee." Joker chuckled.

"Ah, yes, caffeine would be nice, too."

"How long will this take you?" Tali asked.

"Mm." Kerrin moved his hand side to side with a grimace. "Four, five hours give or take. Mostly depending on how much I have to read through."

"And we're supposed to sit around while that happens?" Garrus scowled. Well, his mandibles and face formed a shape that could be construed as a scowl, anyway.

"Not by any means." Kerrin held up a hand. "There are still things to do while we wait. Namely, I'm interested to know exactly why Cerberus and the Blue Suns want my…forced cooperation."

"And this situation should be reported to the Hierarchy." Empyreus said. "This has turned into something more than a simple rescue mission."

Garrus looked much like he was either about to vomit or mulling over a very difficult decision. He opened his mouth to speak, but Davisson cut him off.

"And Admiral Vakarian gets to stay here and watch over the operation. Continuous updates."

Empyreus blinked. "It is h-"

"Empyreus." Davisson's use of the name was sharp, causing several of those gathered to adopt expressions of surprise. "I'm calling in your favor."

Empyreus flashed a glance at Vaya, then the communications console. "You are...certain?"

"Wait. What?" Joker's question was largely ignored.

"I am."

There was a pause as Empyreus considered his options. Then apparently swallowed some bile. His eyes were narrowed to slits, glaring deeply at the console. "Fine. But I will be taking the crew of the _Victorious_ with me. We can drop the asari on Illium along the way. And Corporal Vaya stays here."

Kerrin and Chakwas were busy discussing the medical situation in the corner. Tali, faceless to the group, revealed no expression. Liara and Vaya, however, looked surprised. Garrus, by comparison, looked like Shepard had just got up and started singing Opera music. His head swiveled towards Vaya once in recognition, then again in surprise.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Admiral." She inclined her head, sounding amused.

"Huh. I guess 'you win one, you lose one' applies to 'the hell do I know', too." Davisson mused.

"If I may ask, with Kaidan recovering, who is actually in charge of the Normandy?" Liara asked, looking to Garrus.

The turian looked slightly sheepish as he responded. "Well, not to drop rank…"

"I'm an Admiral too, Garrus." Tali sounded like she was smiling. "If you want to drop rank, you'll have to arm wrestle Jeddah for military superiority." She got several chuckles around the room from that.

"Put Davisson in charge." Empyreus smiled demonically. "He loves that."

"What?" The Colonel on the other end of the ship was suddenly a lot less cheerful and a lot more desperate. "No! I preemptively reject the offer! Twice!"

"We could try a joint operation." Garrus offered.

"Hmm…does that mean I can send you to the brig if you do something stupid?" Tali asked, intrigued.

"We'll talk." Garrus laughed. It was a bit harsh, like he hadn't done it in a while, but clearly it took some discomfort off of his shoulders.

"All right, that's enough." Chakwas looked at them sternly. "You'll have to go elsewhere for a while. We need to look over this data, and that requires concentration."

"If any of you would like to stay as patients, I have a lovely selection of consciousness-reducing anesthetics." Kerrin added. That got everyone out rather quickly.

Barely ten minutes after he'd returned to his room, Davisson heard someone knock on his door. He sighed and made sure his armor didn't have anything corrosive on it. "Come right on it. Unless your skin is blue."

"It's more of a light gray." Garrus said. The door opened to reveal the Admiral himself in normal attire, which struck Davisson as odd. Then again, he'd only seen him in battle gear.

"Admiral." Davisson stood up and saluted. "What brings you to my cabin away from slightly-larger-cabin?"

"I want to talk to you about Admiral Empyreus." Garrus waved his hand at the Colonel to be at ease and took a seat nearby.

Davisson couldn't stop some suspicion from showing on his face. "That's a pretty broad subject, sir. But I'm guessing we can skip over the wild parties at his place on Christmas."

"I-" Garrus blinked. "You're not…serious, are you?"

"Rarely am, sir. It's something of a norm for me. To answer your not-question, though, the five-minute version is that we were on a black ops team together. I pulled him out of a few fires, et cetera."

"You have a gift for being laconic, Colonel." Garrus said dryly. "Exactly how classified are these black ops?"

"Not exactly high-tier, but all of us, governments included, spent a while trying to forget them." He glanced over at a half-empty whiskey bottle on his desk and scowled. "With varying degrees of effectiveness."

"That bad?"

"Well not as bad as firing bigass cannons at Reapers while your head is on fire and husks are nipping at your heels, but kind of exactly like that." He looked at Garrus sadly. "I'm not going to insult you by imposing that I've got more baggage or tougher times, but…I'll bet there are a few things you'd like to forget, too."

"I understand." Garrus nodded. "Though…I have to ask about your rank." Davisson groaned softly. "I've read your file. Even without details on the black ops, you should have your own fleet by now. I haven't seen a record that impressive since I searched Anderson on the extranet."

"Christ, did _everyone_ read my file?" He held up a hand. "No, I really don't want to know. Truth is, I've never wanted command. I had enough of that shit in the war. I guess you could say I work better at a 'blow his head off when I tell you' level. All those commendations say is how well I do that. I'll let you in on a secret, Admiral; I basically came out of retirement when I got called for this mission. The only CO willing to take me on worked a mining station on some backwater world, and he kicked my ass. My attitude doesn't do me many favors."

"Colonel," Garrus said seriously. "I'm not a fan of procedure to begin with. If you're half as good as your file says you are, your attitude can run as much as it wants."

"Nice to finally meet someone else with a military 'get 'er done' philosophy." Davisson said with a grin. "Not to say you won't regret this, though. Caveat emptor."

Garrus looked puzzled. "Either my translator glitched…"

"It's an old Earth language. Translates to 'Buyer Beware'."

"Well now that we're on the right foot, so to speak, I had another question I wanted to ask." The tone of the conversation took a turn for the serious. "Why did you convince him to let me stay here?"

"Because frankly, if it was me, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be dragged off to play politician when there's work to be done. People to look after."

"Something tells me…"

"Yeah, well, you read my file, I read yours. Not that you and Shepard was this huge secret or anything."

"Thanks." It came out more roughly than Garrus intended, but he meant it.

"Okay, my turn at the wheel for twenty questions, if you don't mind." Davisson mulled over how to approach his interest before deciding visibly on 'screw it'. "What's the deal with you and the lieutenant?"

Garrus sighed. "Kaidan and I haven't always been…"

"Wrong lieutenant."

"Well, Joker's good for more than-"

"Okay, now you're just screwing with me." Davisson laughed. Garrus, caught in the act, joined in with a low-key rumble.

"All right, all right. Renar…I first met him back on Palaven. Five years ago. The Reapers had just been wiped out, and I was assisting the cleanup." Davisson nodded, listening intently. "To say I was in a bad place…would be an understatement. Renar's parents lived in one of the major population centers to be the hardest hit. He'd been hidden in an underground bunker. It was fairly hard to find, and well stocked.

"His parents…they didn't make it. When I found him, he was alone, tired, scared out of his wits. When he saw me…" Garrus closed his eyes, looking pained. "He thought I was his father, coming to get him out. He hugged me, he was crying…he thought his nightmare was over."

"Shit." Davisson said softly. "How old was he?"

"Barely fifteen at the time. Too young to have had military service, or even to be out of normal schooling. I think…I think something inside me broke, then. But something else fixed itself, too. I made him a promise. I promised him that he wouldn't lose his father again."

"That makes him what, twenty?" Davisson whistled. "I gotta say, kid's got chops. Fought off those Blue Suns down there like it was nothing and made Physics his bitch in the process."

Garrus chuckled mirthlessly. "The turian Cabals will do that to you. Soldier to shock trooper in a few short years. I should have kept him on my ship."

"I'm guessing the turian biotic training is different than ours. Not worth it?"

"I can't say if it was 'worth it'. But…it changed him. It's not something I should tell you. If you get the opportunity, he should have the chance to tell you himself. Or not."

There was another pause, then Garrus looked up, locking eyes with the marine. "And I want to thank you. For keeping him safe down there."

Davisson grinned. "I didn't need to. Like I said, he does damn well for himself."

"I don't know, the way Tali tells it, you came up with half the plan."

"Just hal- Oh, ha ha ha. I see what you did there." He grinned.

"Why Colonel, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Hnh." Davisson glanced down, deep in thought, then perked up a bit. "So then, what's with you and Corporal-"

"You noticed that over a _comm line_?" Garrus asked exasperatedly.

"No, I noticed when she was giving you eyes on the way down to med bay." When the turian was not forthcoming, Davisson added tantalizingly: "I'll tell you about that time a Batarian tried to kiss me…"

"All right. That one I have to hear. This was a few years before all this started. The ship I was on was on the way to take down a Batarian pirate base, and we were all on edge…"

"-And Arlonn on the second weapons pattern." Empyreus' gaze lingered on his twenty or so new crew members as they walked through the airlock doors on to the _Dawnstar_. He'd assigned them all positions just in case trouble came at them as it was wont to do, but didn't intend to keep any of them. Once they finally docked on Palaven, any turians formerly assigned to the _Victorious_ would stay on the planet until they received further orders.

His most prominent reason was that he felt if Admiral Vakarian decided to request a new vessel, he should have as many original crew on board as possible. He understood better than most the benefits of familiarity and camaraderie. The other reason was that he didn't want too many soldiers from the 'Hooligan Ship' causing problems on _his_ machine.

He fully expected someone to check in after he was finished, and wasn't disappointed. Though, he had expected Vakarian himself to do so, even after seeing his crew off below decks.

"Admiral." Vaya saluted formally.

"Corporal." Empyreus responded in kind, raising an eye ridge slightly. "Was there something you needed?"

"Standing orders aside from orders to stand, sir." A serious questions phrased in a humorous manner. How very like her.

"Ensure the mission succeeds to the best of your ability." He told her simply. "Do not die, either. That will reflect poorly on your record."

She chuckled. "Yes sir."

"And above all…This is a personal request, but one I hope you will not disregard." He opened the airlock door and stepped through, looking over his shoulder to finish his sentence before the door closed. "Keep Colonel Davisson from harm."

Vaya blinked at that. Empyreus wasn't the type to ask personal favors lightly.

How important _was_ that human, anyway?

Liara walked hastily, pulse quickened. Her major insight had left her excited, and her pace was brisk, as were her thoughts. Above all, though, she had to make sure that the present Commanding Officer knew about this. Technically speaking, she didn't need to ask permission, but she felt putting it forward to Garrus now rather than later might make the process easier.

However, she slowed down when she heard laughter from Davisson's cabin. Of course, she knew Garrus was asking him about something, but it sounded like they were…trading humorous anecdotes?

"Seriously?" Davisson said in between gasps. "'Reach and flexibility'? That sounds like a cheesy pickup line."

"I thought so too, but only afterwards." Garrus turned to Liara, and she noticed that for perhaps the first time since he came aboard, he looked almost relaxed. The look was good on him. "Not that I was going to complain…Liara, what can I do for you?"

Davisson saw her and his expression immediately sobered a decent amount. She didn't necessarily regret their earlier conversation - she'd needed to make that subject perfectly clear - but unfortunately it seemed like she had sacrificed a potential friendship for it. A shame. He seemed interesting.

"I have a plan to track down the Cerberus remnant." She said more breathlessly than she intended.

That put the conversation down quickly. Garrus stood, looking serious. "How?"

"You remember Miranda Lawson, from the first SR-2?" He nodded. "I believe I can contact her. If anyone has been keeping a very close watch on Cerberus operations, she has."

"I'm not so sure." Garrus said, while Davisson sat confused in the corner. "She doesn't exactly have a great reason to help us."

"She doesn't have a very good reason not to help us, either. And if we can mention that this might help Shepard, she would be even more inclined."

"Well it's not like we have any other leads to follow. How do you plan to reach her?"

"Advertisements for her father's company in key areas. I will embed my personal code in each. She will know to contact me."

"Send and wait, huh?" Davisson shrugged. "I'll get out the checker board in the meantime."


	9. Chapter 9: Raising Steel

_"We are...an incalculable level of screwed."_

"So what's the plan, boss?"

That was actually a fair question on Davisson's part, Garrus thought. Aside from 'meet Miranda on the surface of Baak', they hadn't discussed a tactical approach much. Though if the former Cerberus agent was on the moon, clearly something of import was there, too. The five mercenary ships they'd had to avoid to get there had been evidence enough that something was going down.

The moons of Hito had always been hotspots for merc and business activity, but it almost looked like these people were organizing a fleet. That couldn't possibly be a good thing.

"Find Miranda, obviously. Right now out main concern is what Cerberus is up to, and she'll know all about that. And I doubt she's just here on vacation, which means we should get ready for a pretty heavy engagement, possibly a base raid, given where we are."

"We're absolutely sure this isn't a trap, right?" Tali asked. "Because frankly I trust Miranda as close as I can get to outplanning her. Which is to say; not at all."

"Former operative Lawson has a personal vendetta against Cerberus." EDI chimed in. "It is unlikely that she will betray us unless we give her reason to suspect that we are not useful to that cause. Currently, we are."

"Great." Tali mumbled. "That makes me feel a lot better."

"Coming up on the drop point for the third time in a row." Joker quipped over the shuttle's comm unit. "And for the third time, are we sure these coordinates are right? It doesn't look like there's anything down there but rock."

"No reason to turn back now." Garrus said. "If this takes a turn for the worse, Cortez can get us out."

The pilot nodded firmly, adjusting the controls for flight on the spot when they were ready.

"All right…opening bay doors now." At Joker's word, the doors unlocked with an inaudible crack. Air rushed out of the bay into the vacuum along with the shuttle, but it was steady as it fell to the surface of the moon. The Normandy sped off to keep out of sight, and in only a few minutes the vehicle was alone en route to its destination.

Out the front window, a small outpost was visible a few klicks from their drop point, and on the point itself…

"Looks like a small landing craft." Tali commented. "Standard. That could be them."

However, several explosions of blue, white and red near the outpost drew their attention, and Cortez landed the shuttle shortly thereafter. Tali, EDI, Davisson and Garrus all piled out, weapons at the ready. "Radio in when you need an evac. I'll be here." Cortez informed them. Their vessel shot off with that notice, sound and feel dampened in the vacuum around them.

"All right, everyone." Garrus loaded his Viper with armor-piercing rounds. "Whatever's going on over there, it looks like we need to intervene."

They raced as fast as possible over the small craters and ridges that barred their path for only split-seconds, as the scene in front of them grew more in focus with every step. A lone feminine figure was ducked behind a crate, taking fire from three Blue Suns troopers and a Cerberus commando.

That was stopped in short order when all of their weapons stopped working, their shields failed, one burst into flames, and another dropped with a hole in his head. Garrus shouted 'Impressive!' to Davisson over the radio, mostly out of reflex. He couldn't say he _wasn't_ impressed, but he could've made that shot, too. While sprinting like they were. Maybe. Crap.

The remaining two soldiers jumped and started pulling their triggers ineffectually at the incoming quartet of doom. The commando wised up and started to run, but Garrus dropped him immediately. Headshot on the run aiming at a moving target. Yeah; he still had it.

All four of them began firing on the last trooper, but he suddenly wasn't there anymore. Tali looked up and saw he had been tossed up at an incredible speed. Combined with low gravity, he was almost out of the atmosphere entirely when he came crashing back down with blinding speed. She winced underneath the helmet. She could almost hear the impact, and she was fairly certain that batarians were _not_ supposed to bend that way. She had seen Renar do much the same thing in the Monastery, but had forgotten that Miranda was the one who perfected the trick. Biotics could be terrifying.

Speaking of Miranda…

The figure slid away her pistol and stepped out from cover, nodding her appreciation and accessing her omni-tool. Within moments, all of them were synched to a group conversation via communications equipment.

"Thanks for the assistance." Miranda's familiar voice rang into their helmet's auditory systems. "I was hoping the Shadow Broker would come personally, but it's nice to know he sends the best in his stead."

"He was…busy." Garrus said evasively. "What's your situation?"

"This outpost leads to an underground lab system. It looks like Cerberus is housing several important experiments inside, which means it obviously can't be allowed to exist." She motioned to the corpses. "Resistance is fairly light. I don't think they expected anyone to get past the mercenaries."

"How did you?" EDI asked.

"Stealth systems. We dropped right on top of them with no hostiles the wiser."

"Shit, does everyone have those now?" Davisson sounded annoyed.

"Wait." Garrus held up a hand. "'We'?"

It was a fairly extraordinary coincidence that a mercenary chose that moment to run past them at top speed, arms waving above his head. Clearly, he was screaming his head off and in fear for his life. Unfortunately, the biotic shockwave was slightly faster. He was hit with the force of a demolition bomb and sent flying into the distance.

"Nice try." A new voice sounded in on their group channel, and a second female figure in armor much like the first's (flat gray and light) came around the side of the outpost.

"These the reinforcements?" Jack asked. "About time. I was ready to charge in."

"Jack." Garrus said genially. "Never thought I'd be glad to see you. In a manner of speaking. Still using that swear jar?"

"Go to hell, loverboy." She muttered, then looked his companions up and down. "Looks like you brought in some random jarhead and the quiet hackers." She looked at Miranda. "Tell me this didn't just turn into a stealth mission."

"It might be, but not wherever you are." Miranda said thoughtfully. "This could work out better than I envisioned, actually."

"What are you thinking?" Davisson asked roughly, clearly miffed at being referred to as a 'random jarhead'.

"I can take Tali and EDI in a back entrance and quietly get control of their systems. I know Cerberus bases - the main security consoles are going to be near the exits. They'll want to make sure the scientists and engineers by those operational quarters get out safely. The three of you can take the front and cause a distraction. Less security for us, more enemies for you to shoot."

"And everybody wins." Jack rotated her neck around, cracking her knuckles inside the gauntlets. "So what are we standing around for?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Tali nodded. "Just be careful about it, all right? This suit is brand new."

"We'll keep them suppressed and meet you in the middle." Garrus motioned to the front entrance. "Jack, you-"

"I know the drill." Jack held up a hand and drew her shotgun. "Just stay out of my way when the bullets start flying."

* * *

The initial few rooms and hallways were largely devoid of enemy forces. Though the security systems were still active by the time Jack, Davisson, and Garrus were in, which meant that they were undoubtedly going to have more company, and soon.

So, naturally, the best thing to do was small talk.

"So, Jack." Garrus began. "Still teaching?"

"Yeah. We got a new place near Widow." She brought a biotic fuse to bear as she turned another corner…and extinguished it when she saw no guards. Again. "Guess the Council finally decided to be useful. Had some graduates, had some newbies…barely even notice I've been there so long, most days."

"What are you doing here, though?" Garrus asked.

"Taking a sick day. Yeah, this is how I spend my vacations. Comment, I'll find a standard turian stick and lodge it back up your- …Face."

"Spirits know _I_ don't mind spending free time taking down Cerberus operations. But they've been scarce; any ideas as to why they're around now?"

"No idea." Jack grunted. "The cheerleader just called me up two days ago. 'Want to go blow up some Cerberus moon base' was all I got."

"Rah." Davisson paused to open up the comm channel. "I don't like this quiet. Infiltration team, what's our status?"

"Closing on the Control Room now." Tali whispered. "No hostiles."

"Okay, if all of their patrols are taking a piss at this particular moment, I'm a rachni." Davisson muttered. "They know we're here."

"The only question is where they're setting the trap." Garrus finished, nodding.

"No way we're going to walk right in." Jack muttered. "Hey cheerleader, step on it."

There was a pause, then the sound of sudden gunfire on the other end. "Dammit!" Miranda shouted. "This could take a while! They have mechs swarming the area! Garrus, trigger some security systems and get them off of us!"

"Uh." Davisson looked around. "When did we become bait?"

"When bait became necessary." Garrus replied. "Let's go find some trouble."

X X X

Trouble wasn't hard to find. As it happened, the guards and foot soldiers that had been in various sections of the base were now in _one_ place. They had re-purposed an open cafeteria into a war zone, complete with cover and ammunition deposits. Even worse, multiple hallways lead to this location, meaning being flanked by either mechs or more Cerberus platoons was frankly inevitable.

Absolutely none of it helped.

Davisson picked off another shock trooper from his hiding place atop the roof of the cafeteria windows. The white-clad man had been hilariously easy to dispatch, being helplessly in the air. Their 'cover' was scattered all around the room, some of it still floating from Jack's repeated biotic pulses. Garrus was firing constantly at immobilized opponents, unloading headshots like they were going out of style. The last remaining member of the defensive line backed up against a wall and shot at Jack ineffectually before she turned his head into pulp.

Their glorious makeshift battlefield had lasted a minute. At best.

Muffled explosions came from behind the door they had entered. Apparently the reinforcements had arrived and been immediately disposed of, courtesy of Garrus having far too many proximity mines on his person.

Davisson rolled off the roof and slid away his rifle. "Davisson to infiltration team." He said casually. "Status?"

"Finally inside." Miranda responded. "It looks like we have some control over their security systems and personnel tracking…fully half of which just switched to K.I.A. Was that you?"

"If you mean did we just annihilate a room full of Cerberus forces, yes." Garrus said cheerfully. "Sounds like their mechs ran into our trap, too."

"We noticed." Tali told him. "A dozen of them rushed off just a minute or two ago. I guess they saw you."

"Joke's on them." Jack said. "Where do we go now?"

"Accessing mapping file…" Miranda's voice subsided briefly, then came back. "Leave the cafeteria via the opposite side of where you came in. It looks like there's a stairway that leads to a lower level. Experimental labs, maybe. Too classified up here to tell."

"What about you?" Garrus asked.

"There's an emergency exit to the lower levels on our side. We can hack through there."

"Acknowledged." Garrus raised a pistol and removed the head of a LOKI mech that made the mistake of being slightly slower than its fellows and turned to the other door. It was unlocked.

It led to more hallways ("Joy." Jack remarked) and finally a descending staircase. They didn't encounter any more enemy forces, which worried them, though none of them voiced it.

After a solid minute and a half of slowly proceeding down so that nothing surprised them with a sudden death, another door stood in front of them. The area was calm. Too calm.

This door, too, was unlocked.

"Hey, remember when I said this was a trap?" Davisson pointed at it. "Well this is the mother of all _obvious_ traps."

"True." Garrus nodded.

They paused.

"We're going in anyway, aren't we." Davisson said resignedly.

"Well, yes. But keep behind cover and watch for bombs."

"Eh." Davisson readied his shotgun and shrugged. "The biotic can just toss 'em."

"'The Biotic' has a name." Jack said.

"Right. Sorry, Jan."

"It's _Ja-_ Wait. Is this payback for the 'jarhead' comment?" She scoffed at him. "Real mature."

"Wow, that almost made me feel like an idiot. You really are a teacher."

"Oh shut up." She growled.

"I'm going to open the door before you two kill each other." Garrus said. He tapped the green panel and it slid open silently. In front of them was an observation room (empty, of course), leading outwards via two doors on either side. They walked forward slowly, stopping in front of the glass that looked down on a huge medical facility below them.

At first, Garrus thought they were just putting up small ammunition barrels. Geth design, maybe. Then he saw the movement of a lone spike retracting into its slot. And something else.

"Miranda." He said urgently into the comm. channel.

"I know." She sounded angry. "We see them too."

Davisson squinted at the horde moving about below them. "Are those…?"

"Husks." Garrus said softly. "Dozens of them."

"_Fuck_." Jack responded.

**[Author's Note: Sorry that it took so long, folks, though thank you for your patience. I'm also sorry that this chapter is comparatively short, though the next one should be longer (and thus also take me a while as well, hopefully not nearly as long as this).**

**And yes. I do intend to at least introduce in passing pretty much all of the Trilogy survivors.]**


	10. Chapter 10: Burning Bridges

_"Anyone else worried that the_ pacifists_ are outclassing us?"_

A small favor was that the husks didn't see them immediately. It was dampened by the apparent hostile takeover of the entire laboratory level by the monstrosities. Every room and hallway contained at least a half-dozen of them, and while the doors between rooms were soundproofed (to prevent screams from interfering with work, Garrus thought grimly), the odds were stacked heavily against them. And they hadn't even reached the main laboratory rooms yet. So far the infestation had only caught them in small bunk rooms or offices, but with these numbers, it was uncertain whether they could survive a full rush from a horde.

"We keep passing offices." Garrus muttered into his comm unit. "Any ideas as to what we should be looking for?"

"All the files we need will have been forwarded to whoever runs this facility." Miranda whispered back. "See if you can download a map to your omni-tool and find that office from there."

"Understood…but you didn't answer my question." He pointed out.

He heard a soft sigh on the other end. "I'm looking for hints at other Cerberus bases, unlikely as it may be. I don't even particularly care what they're up to in this one, as long as it's rubble when we're finished. As for you, I'm not the one who can answer that question."

"Right. Do you think they would have any Reaper data stored here?"

"Did you miss the husks?" She sounded annoyed, now. "If anything, I'm starting to think Reaper technology was their focus here."

"You think they might be trying to bring them back?" Garrus asked.

"If I didn't have a vendetta before…let's assume so and hope not."

Garrus' H.U.D. flashed in warning as they approached another door. "Hey, did anyone else's LADAR just turn re-?" Davisson began, confused, then deadpan. "You've gotta be kidding me."

The next room was so filled with hostiles that none of them could tell the bodies from the walls. It was times like this that biotics against enemies lacking shields were particularly useful. If anything, Garrus thought as he opened the door, this would be more of a temporary annoyance than a death sentence; they could retreat and let them come through the bottleneck while Jack blew them to bits.

Fortunately, it wasn't husks. Unfortunately, it was twenty Cerberus foot soldiers. Even worse, they had all apparently been on high alert (Garrus wondered why with a heavy dose of sarcasm) and opened fire as soon as they saw enemies. Jack threw biotic fields and waves into the center of the room, Davisson returned fire on fully automatic with his sniper rifle…they'd need to talk about that later…and Garrus tried desperately to simultaneously close the door and not die.

Cerberus built their systems for efficiency, and it showed. The door shut immediately, and only a few projectiles came through. Not enough to drain their shields by any sizeable amount.

"Now would be a great time to find better cover!" Davisson motioned back down the hallway. Their only options were small offices on either side, but they would do. They each dove into a different door, crouching behind the clear glass windows that allowed for a minor view of the hall.

"Miranda, come in." Garrus whispered urgently, glancing outside. "Can you divert some husks to our location?"

"…Excuse me?" She said flatly.

"Just do it!" He hissed.

"Fine. Miracle workers to the rescue. There are a few smaller labs near your location…there we go." Garrus ducked his head down when he saw the white boots approaching en masse, and almost immediately his door opened. Two troopers raced inside, aiming assault rifles and firing wildly. They made the attempt, anyway.

There was an orange flash, and only empty _click _sounds came from the Mattocks. Garrus' mandibles widened in a grin. He waved his omni-tool at them. What he wouldn't have given to see their faces just then. Not that they kept their faces for long. His own weapon, unaffected by the sabotage, saw to that.

The rest of the enemy group ceased their searching and he heard them all running towards him. A pistol peeked around the corner and several shots were reflected by his shields. He hit the door with a fist and it closed shut around the arm, leaving the room with a total of thirteen limbs. Despite his capacity for improvisation, he wouldn't last long against a complete assault, and hoped that his 'reinforcements' would arrive soon.

He waited, braced against the wall and weapon pointed at the entrance for the next wave. Then he continued waiting. And waited some more. He lifted his head to check the hall, and hit the floor with a start. They were having a civil war, all right, and it was clear why Cerberus was hiding. They had definitely not prepared to have to fight these things. It struck him as incredibly stupid. This was a slaughter in the way that fire was warm.

After what felt like an eternity, he lifted his head again and saw the husks milling around, alone. Then a flash of blue as they went flying in various directions. Jack spared a look at him when she walked by, clearly rolling her eyes behind the helmet. Davisson shrugged at him, and he opened the door for the third time.

"You know, I never credited Cerberus as being particularly smart, but this is over the top." He commented when Garrus stepped out. "They got torn apart by things that should only be slightly annoying? No security precautions? What gives?"

"I don't like it either." Garrus said, following the sinking feeling in his gut. He re-opened the comm channel. "Miranda, something doesn't add up here. Have you found anything?"

"Clear." Tali said shortly, shotgun out and aimed down one direction of the three-pronged split trail.

"No hostiles detected." EDI confirmed, aiming a pistol in the opposite direction.

"Keep watch. Eyesight, not tech." Miranda knelt down next to the felled Cerberus commando, activating her omni-tool for a medical analysis. Something was off with the readings…far more augmentations than should be normal, even for them. Carefully, she removed his helmet, and dropped it, jumping back with an intake of breath.

The facial profile, blue tracings, empty eyes…it was a husk. A _full_ husk in Cerberus standard commission battle armor, not just a semi-aug like she'd seen during the War. She vaguely heard Garrus contact her with a question, something about things not adding up. No shit.

"You're damned right." She said, struggling to control her breathing. "The Cerberus troopers are husks."

There was a pause. Then five voices simultaneously answered over the shared connection. "That does not-"

"The hell you-"

"What are they-"

"How is that-"

"Who would order-"

"I don't know." She said, various thoughts and possibilities racing around her mind.. "But I intend to find out. Tali, EDI, form up." She spotted another office up ahead. The last few hadn't had any answers, but passing by the one helpful console because it might not have anything was worse than wasting a minute.

But she was in luck. A quick glance told her that this database belonged to the Head Scientist's second. Better yet, it was unlocked. An unopened audio message stood out immediately among the files. She set the rest of them to download to her omni-tool and opened the recent message.

A panicked voice sounded over the speakers, what was remarkably akin to gunfire blasting in the background. "This is Dr. Stevenson sounding a general alert! Code re- Oh, screw code red, this goes beyond code red! Purple, or something! The test subjects are off the leash, we need to evacuate to the tunnels, now! I'm sending a beacon to the Eletania base - then we're waiting for evac!"

Miranda saw Tali facemask-palm out of the corner of her eye, and concurred with the assessment. Mad scientists. They just don't learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. "It looks like we're going further in. Again." She sighed. "And I think there's only one entrance this time." A look-over of the map file from the computer confirmed this. She input locations data, and saw that the other three were already there. "Take a right down the next hallway, it'll be the third door on the left. Try checking the offices as you go, might pass the time."

"Roger, see you there."

X X X

It would have been easier to catch up if it hadn't been for the damned turrets.

There were three of them, and they only activated and started firing when EDI, Miranda and Tali were within five meters. If Tali hadn't been so quick to react, at least one of them would have gone down. As it was, that split-second moment of initiative turned the fight from terrifying to laughably easy. The sabotage left the weaponry useless, giving EDI all the time in the world to hack one of them, which proceeded to turn another into scrap when the systems reactivated. A second fell to Miranda overloading its motherboard.

As for their new swiveling friend, they simply left it to its work on the roof of the hall. At the least, anything behind them would have problems catching up.

They found Garrus, Jack and Dave (or was it Dick? Danielsson? Bah) waiting for them next to an elevator. There was always an elevator, Miranda thought darkly.

Of course, Dagwood and Garrus had found the least responsible way to wait.

"Uhh…" Garrus said, looking over his omni-tool display. "Go fish."

Darke reached to press a 'draw' button, then looked at the turian suspiciously. "Wait. You don't have aces, twos, threes, fours, fives, sixes, eights, jacks, tens, queens, OR kings? Are you sure you know how to play this game?"

"I thought I was supposed to be bluffing." Garrus shrugged.

Damien hung his head and gave a long-suffering sigh. "That's…another game."

Jack turned to the other three approaching. "Please tell me we can go now. Watching the jarhead get his ass handed to him is hilarious, but we have work to do."

"As long as the elevator has enough room." Tali nodded.

Garrus hit the control, and in fact the elevator was quite wide, frankly roomy even for six people. "Well, that's convenient." Dakota commented, glancing at EDI. "Everyone watch out for giant space bears."

Miranda (and Jack too, she imagined) gave him a bewildered look under her helmet, but EDI replied in deadpan with a totally straight face: "A joke. I am amused."

Tali groaned halfheartedly. "Oh great. Jeddah's habits are spreading."

"Like a virus." EDI confirmed. Then paused. "Aside from the obvious lack of any hostile data being transferred that interferes with my systems, or…"

"Oh god, kill me." Jack muttered as the doors closed.

* * *

It had been a long day for Bob. As if being a Cerberus Remnant foot soldier wasn't bad enough today, chance had picked _his_ shift to be the one where the creepy-ass experiments went rampant. Most of his unit had been slaughtered by the damn things, and the three remaining scientists had pyjaks up their asses. Waiting for evac? Some damn plan. Five men left, even including him, was nowhere near a good enough security detail to-

A soft 'ding' sound brought him out of his reading and back to real life. He blinked under his helmet, and his thermal imaging implants alerted him that a group of six were coming down the elevator, straight towards him. That was impossible, unless either reinforcements had arrived early, or…

"Main office, this is Ground Operative Crazz." He said hastily into his radio connection. "Are reinforcements authorized presently?"

"Reinforcements?" Stevenson asked, angry. "What the hell are you talking about?"

That was all Bob needed. Before the elevator door opened, he sprinted to the end of the hallway. He bounced off the door at first, then opened it and ran to the right, narrowly avoiding a bullet to the shin.

"Get ready, Stevenson!" He panted. "Six intruders are heading towards you!"

"What the fu- _Are you running_?"

"Like the wind!" He said, then disconnected. He kept running, further away from the sounds of shouting, angry voices. But screw Cerberus. Those husks were one thing, but he sure as hell wasn't willing to die for the cause. Not this cause.

He had to hand it to his bosses, though; they made good implants. He was far outstripping all of the hostiles on foot, but he was fairly certain that at least one of them had a sniper rifle. He saw a door coming up, and remotely accessed it with his omni-tool, sliding it up just as he arrived. He didn't lose pace, but he leaped forward and twisted in midair, drawing his pistol with one hand and a bomb with the other. He got a good look at the leading three before he blew out the door controls, closing it.

Shit, they had a _quarian_. He landed hard, but rolled backwards. He made it halfway to the emergency contaminant disposal room when he heard the door behind him open. He didn't look back, just raised his hand and waved. Then he lowered the finger right on to the detonator. The bomb exploded right at the foot of the door. It was weak as all hell if they had any shields, but more important was the smokescreen.

At this point, he didn't care if the disposal room was a shark tank filled with acid. Anything was better than getting caught by whoever these people were. He sealed the exit behind him.

* * *

"Everyone alright?" Garrus asked, trying to pinpoint his target through the smoke. He couldn't believe he'd missed - twice! Hopefully no one had been paying attention…

"We're doing better than your aim." Davisson snarked. Damn it.

"Who _was _that?" Miranda peered through the haze at the closed door, trying to figure out like everyone else what just happened.

"Someone who's figured out that fear moves faster than anger, apparently." Tali remarked.

"Why'd he go into the contaminant disposal place?" Jack just sounded mildly annoyed that their quarry had escaped. "Isn't that a death sentence?"

"Given the alternative, his choice was logical." EDI said.

"He might have raised the alarm." Miranda checked behind them to ensure they wouldn't be caught off guard. "We should go and find this Dr. Stevenson."

X X X

Stevenson looked dispassionately down the barrel of the intruder's pistol. He really would have preferred to at least had the opportunity to chew out Operative Crazz beforehand, never mind the four augmented commandoes that were supposed to be his security detail. Seven minutes and twenty six seconds from the end of the transmission to this. He'd counted.

And already the interrogation was starting to get repetitive. "Go to hell."

A fist slammed into his face, knocking him back into a diagram of husk physiology. He tried to ignore the stinging nosebleed, but it wasn't easy. "We don't have time for your games!" One of the women in similar body armor shouted. He could make out an accent…Austrian? Was that what it was called? Damn, but he hadn't been to Earth in a while. "Tell us what you were working on, or you're going to end up with worse than a broken nose!"

"You should have been able to deduce that yourself." He said bitterly. "The Horizon Project."

"And without a steady supply of husks to keep the project afloat, you decided to make your own." She spat. "You people just don't learn from your mistakes, do you?"

"Guess not." He admitted. "But when the benefits so far outweigh the risks…"

"The benefits?" She demanded. "Your experiments are brutal and insane. Nothing could possibly justify-"

"We're doing this for the betterment of humanity." He cut her off angrily. "I'm not the insane one here if you can't see that."

"My father thought the same thing." She said coolly. "You might have heard of him. Headed the original Horizon project. Experimented with controlling reaper soldiers. I tossed him out a window. You're turning soldiers into malformed puppets and calling it a godsend. And you, I don't have any familial attachment to."

"Dying at the hands of some vigilante with a vendetta is part of the job, _Operative Lawson_." He shot back. "I don't have any illusions there. But I was part of something great. It's sad that you've lost sight-"

She simply punched him in the face again to shut him up. His morality lectures were starting to wear thin. "What's happening on Eletania?"

"Don't ask questions you know the answer to." He said defiantly.

"Fine." She sighed, sliding away her pistol. "I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not going to kill you. I don't think you're worth the tenth of a thermal clip." She motioned the other armored woman forward.

"Jack, here, has no such hangups."

The last thing Stevenson saw was a flash of blue.

X X X

"Well, I feel all warm and fuzzy." Davisson commented across the comm line to Miranda as their shuttles took off. "But did that actually get us any information?"

"It gave us another Cerberus base." Jack said. "That's enough for one day."

"We'd appreciate the backup if you want to come with us." Miranda informed them.

"I don't think we have anything more solid to follow up on." Garrus said ponderously. "But we'll have to check in aboard the ship first. See if there's anything in particular we should be on the lookout for."

"How well did we place that device, by the way?" Tali asked.

"…Wait." Garrus held up a hand. "What device?"

"One of Jack's signature B.F.B's." Miranda replied. "It'll go off when we're at minimum safe distance."

"Ehh..." Davisson sounded leery. "What?"

"Big friggin' bomb." Jack explained.

"...How big are we talking?" Davisson asked.

"Buckle up, buttercup." Jack cackled, then the line went dead.

"...Holy crap, they're insane."

* * *

"Ah, you're back!" Kerrin smiled at Garrus' entrance. Kaidan had awoken in one of the corner beds, and grimaced at the Admiral. His head was bandaged, but he didn't generally look the worse for wear. He started to lean up, but Dr. Chakwas forced his upper body back down with a stern look.

"I've come up with a few theories regarding possible resuscitation for the Commander," Kerrin continued. "And I thought you would like to know."

"By all means." Garrus said, not bothering to hide his rising hope at the prospect.

"The first option is the most dangerous. We'd need to allow the…well, 'shell' to fully wake up, first, then add external stimuli in the hopes of a psychological rejection of the pseudo-indoctrination. Sorry," He added when Garrus raised an uncomprehending eyeridge. "We wake her up, then see if she can throw it off herself by giving her a powerful emotional connection. Sufficient willpower does the rest."

"Risks?" Garrus asked.

"Er, well, the window for the reaction is short. And if it doesn't work, we may not have enough time to put her back under before the possessor goes berserk and kills us all."

"Sounds perfect." Garrus said sarcastically. "Next."

"A suitable host may be able to act as a recipient if we can force the possessor out. But we would need someone or something that we know for certain the possessor can, well, possess."

"And we don't have any Collectors on hand. Still, promising. Next."

"I-" Kerrin started to speak, then closed his mouth, looking concerned.

"Spit it out, Doctor."

"En…Enhanced Defense Intelligence?" Kerrin said nervously. EDI's traditional blue vaguely head-shaped hologram sprung into view on the medical comm terminal. "Does the Normandy have a working airlock?"

"Affirmative." EDI said. Though her voice sounded…colder than usual, somehow. Garrus' talons curled up, cutting into his scales. Was the salarian really suggesting what he thought he was suggesting?

"I'm sure you know where I'm going with this." Kerrin pinched between his eyebrows. "Chances of success?"

"Extremely close to a negative percent." EDI said simply. "Theoretically impossible, but accurate. The entirety of the crew would kill you brutally at the suggestion. Including myself." Garrus felt his heart soaring with respect and affection for the AI at that simple statement.

"If I were so far gone, I wouldn't resist." Kerrin said darkly. "Nevertheless, those three are the theories I have compiled so far. More may come, of course, I'm not entirely out of ideas."

"I'm inclined towards number two." Garrus said. "It'll let me put a bullet in Harbinger's damn head for good, at least."

"I understand your hesitance, Kerrin." Chakwas said softly, looking at Garrus. "But you should really tell him."

"Tell me what?" Garrus found himself alarmed. "What's wrong now?"

"The…state of possession in Commander Shepard…" Kerrin began, clearly worried about the reaction to the news. "The alien control, plus the damage to mental functions, as well as the sheer power behind it…" He stopped, unwilling to go on.

Kaidan spoke up sorrowfully, locking eyes with the turian admiral. "The cells of her body are starting to deteriorate, Garrus. The possession's killing her."

* * *

"Spectre Alenko hasn't fully recovered yet, so I'll be leading our side of this next mission." Garrus informed the crew over the intercom as the ship approached Eletania. "Putting us through our paces. Jeddah, Dr. Solus, Corporal Vaya. Be on the shuttle in five."

There was a very good reason behind his choices, naturally. Solus would know what they were looking for, Jeddah would be an enormous asset on the field of hacking and if they encountered more husks, and Vaya…well, it never hurt to have more guns, and he wanted to see her in action. And damn, that sounded less dirty before he thought it.

As per usual, the away team was on the shuttle in three minutes, not five. Though, Tali had accompanied the geth. He could tell that she was giving him a severe look behind the mask, and sensed an argument. Possibly a threat. Maybe both.

However, when he approached, she seemed content with a simple phrase. "Not a scratch, Garrus. Not a scratch."

"I am capable of keeping myself operational, Creator Tali'Zorah." Was that embarrassment in the geth's tone?

"True," She conceded. "But people tend to get shot at a lot more than usual around the esteemed Admiral Vakarian, here."

"It-…He'll be fine, Tali. I'll be careful."

"Garrus." She said sharply. "EDI connected me directly to the med bay comm unit. I know you. You're going to be as careful as a charging krogan."

"I'll be careful about getting Jeddah shot, then." He amended gruffly, indicating the unit who had apparently decided that any resistance to this conversation was going to be futile.

"I'll take what I can get with you." Tali sighed. She reached out to grasp his shoulder softly, looking him in the eye. Of course, he couldn't but look her in the mask, so there were difficulties, but the effect was the same. "Keep safe."

"Or you'll turn the ship around, right?" He asked wryly.

"No…I'll have to come get you. I'll bring Liara and EDI. Then I'll tell the hierarchy that the great Admiral Vakarian had to be saved by three technical noncombatants half his size." Based on her tone, she seemed to enjoy the thought quite a bit.

"…Careful it is." He took a step back into the shuttle and put on his helmet. Vaya hadn't donned hers yet. She was grinning at him.

"Not a word, Corporal, not a word."

"I must admit…" Kerrin began hesitantly, shifting uncomfortably in his light salarian combat armor. "I am curious as to why more military personnel are not coming with us."

"Well, Jack, Miranda, and I are an army each. And the way I heard it, you're more than capable." Garrus indicated the doctor's left arm, where lay his omni-tool.

"I suppose that makes sense." Kerrin admitted, checking his supplies. "I hope I have enough here to deal with _all_ the threats."

"You won't have to." Vaya slid a thermal clip into her Javelin. "Just clean up the stragglers."

"Admiral Vakarian." Jeddah said sharply. Garrus silently thanked the spirits that geth units had finally stopped using a name-then-rank method of address. "I have located a hostile distress signal."

"From the base?" Garrus checked his omni-tool, linking in to whatever the geth was trying to show him.

"Affirmative. The signal is the only form of communication from within."

"Looks like this facility has some problems of its own." Garrus opened the communications channel to the invisible ship beside them. "Miranda, did you get the signal?"

"Yes." She said shortly. "Looks like a general warning. Probably contaminants or a riot."

"You can tell that from one signal?"

"You have to check what isn't there. Cerberus has dozens of variations within each distress signal depending on what's going on, when, and how. This one looks rushed; essentially it just reads 'keep out'."

"So, two Cerberus bases, two distress-worthy situations." Jack commented. "Anyone else think…?"

"That this is really pathetic?" Garrus and Miranda responded in unison. "Yes."

"Hostile forces detected at entrance." Jeddah warned. "Semi-organic life forms." The shuttle rocked from a heavy impact. "They appear to have weapons."

"Thanks for the forewarning." Garrus deadpanned. "Cortez, evasive maneuvers!"

"Way ahead of you, sir!" The pilot spun the shuttle into a steep dive, barrel rolling to avoid further impacts. Beside them, Miranda's ship fired on the landing zone, sending Cerberus troops sprawling for cover.

"Jeddah, what are your combat capabilities?" Garrus asked. "Cliffnotes version!"

"Common vernacular: Defensive Drone, Overload, Sabotage, Energy Reroute." The geth replied.

Garrus was about to give him an order, then the oddity struck him. "What does that last do?"

"It resets shield polarity in nearby friendly units by violently disassembling major systems in synthetic targets."

Kerrin cut in before Garrus had a chance to ask what the hell that meant. "He recharges our shields by making mechs explode!"

"…You're taking point against their security systems."

"Affirmative."

A round ricocheted off of the opening shuttle door as they landed, throwing up a puff of dirt from the ground. Vaya returned fire, dropping the culprit. Another tried to run to better cover, but froze in mid step. Garrus took care of him.

To the side, he heard Kerrin muttering to himself. "It shuts down brain functions. He didn't feel anything. It shuts down brain functions…"

An arcing shockwave of biotic energy blew aside two more, one of whom stopped in midair and rose even further than his compatriots before slamming back down with crippling force. As if that wasn't bad enough, the biotic feedback exploded violently, and so did he.

The good news was that there was only one remaining soldier left. The bad news was that it was a Phantom.

A Phantom that immediately turned invisible.

"Damn it!" Garrus shouted, sliding out of the shuttle. "Does anyone have a thermal setting on their HUDs?"

"Who cares!" Jack stepped out of the other ship and began throwing biotic fields around at random. "I'll get her eventually!"

Jeddah hopped out of the shuttle and almost immediately a sword stuck out of its chassis. It looked down at the blade, then grabbed the rapidly-appearing Phantom by the throat.

"Warning: Geth possess no vital systems in that area. Scanning: Processing common terms. 'You fail assassination forever'." Then a metal fist came from the other side, sending the Phantom flying through the air seventeen meters into the hard, unforgiving wall of the Cerberus base entrance.

Vaya didn't waste a moment, and opened up a new hole in her dented head.

Garrus turned to the geth slowly. "Jeddah, what exactly happened to not harming sentient life?"

"I did not lethally affect the organic in an adverse manner. My intent was to render her unconscious, and it was successful." The geth pulled the sword free and tossed it aside without a glance.

"Now I want to piss this thing off even less than the last one." Jack commented.

"Hopefully you can continue using loose definitions as we go." Miranda motioned to the entrance of the base. "How well can you hack?"

"I opened the entrance console remotely during the conflict. I also improved cohesion in the inter-communications systems of our radios and accessed several key file storage areas within the base itself, including the extranet mail of one high-ranking scientist." The geth paused. "What is 'Fornax'?"

"Why wasn't he on the last team?" Jack asked Miranda incredulously, ignoring the last question.

"Because Tali did all that in half the time. _And_ got the espresso machines working." Miranda said dryly. Jeddah bobbed its eye up and down.

"You need to get a bigger shuttle and start taking everyone." Jack told Garrus.

"I would, but we keep adding random people to the team." Garrus shrugged. "I half expect that one escaped Cerberus trooper to find us in a spaceport and ask to join."

"We should get going, sir." Vaya said. "That signal might attract reinforcements soon, and spirits only know what we'll find down there."

**[Author's Note: Merry Christmas, all! This present is for all of you - three and a half extra pages of fighting, AND a relative cliffhanger. I may, of course, do a Christmas episode at some point, though obviously it'll be belated.]**


	11. Chapter 11: The Return

**[Author's Note: I don't think I mention this enough, so here goes. Thank you, my lovely audience. Everyone who has reviewed, everyone who has followed, everyone who has favorited…hell, if you're reading this right now, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Whether you enjoy our journey or not, those numbers and text keep me going.]**

_"No? How about just 'screw that', then?"_

The facility itself appeared to be little larger than the Main Deck of the Normandy on the outside. The picture their LADARs painted when they filed into the entrance hall told them no differently, though it wasn't a stretch to assume this base would have lower levels, like the last.

Initially, there wasn't any particular heavy resistance. In fact, Jeddah assured them that there were no signs of thermal activity on their level for the first dozen meters or so. Garrus had assumed the forces outside were a typical guard force, but now he realized it was also possible that they were retreating. That distress beacon had to be there for something, after all.

"RoE, Admiral?" Vaya asked from behind him.

He motioned Jack forward to secure a crossroad, turning his head to the side. "I think we demonstrated the terms pretty clearly outside, Corporal. If it fires at you, kill shots."

"But keep the scientists alive if possible." Miranda interjected. "Some of them might be more helpful than the late Dr. Stevenson."

"I thought about that." Kerrin added. "I cobbled together a…I suppose 'truth serum' would work as a moniker. But it causes hives in Batarians. Just so you are aware."

"I'll take what I can get." Miranda moved forward as Jack's nod. The team proceeded further into the facility, keeping a wary eye out for hostile forces. After a time, Miranda held up a hand, signaling the others to stop, and checked a door. It was solid, but translucent.

"Jackpot." Miranda opened it immediately. It appeared to be a relatively small science lab of some sort. Various charts and pictures of skeletal areas and organs lined a medical 'whitewall', and a covered body lay atop a metal cart.

Kerrin, for his part, seemed mildly relieved to find something here within his area of expertise. Garrus and Vaya guarded the door, but turned their heads when Miranda jumped back and exclaimed "What the _hell_?"

The body was that of a salarian, but he didn't look like a salarian at all. The skin where his mouth should have been was smooth and featureless, his eyes were much smaller than normal, and had been replaced with what looked like small balls of lava. His hands had double the typical amount of fingers, and they were all curled into positions no one could manage if they had bones there. His horns had been replaced with what looked like semi-organic radio antennae.

"I…ah…concur." Kerrin sounded suddenly nauseous. Garrus didn't blame him. "Most…major features appear to have been replaced by...tech of some kind."

'Replaced by tech…'

Where had Miranda heard that before? Mordin had used the exact same phrase on the SR-2 while describing the changes the Reapers made to…

"_Dammit, Cerberus_." She growled. Kerrin looked at her in surprise. "They're trying to turn the sentient races of our galaxy into Collectors."

She heard Garrus inhale sharply, and Jack bounced her helmet off a nearby wall in exasperation. Kerrin looked at them in confusion. "Eh, what?"

"They were responsible for the abduction of a few human fringe colonies just before the war." Garrus explained. "Turns out, the Reapers spent a while genetically engineering the Protheans to be a race of slaves. Like husks, but more…insectoid."

"Wait a sec." Jack cut in. "Wouldn't they need something to go by to pull this off?"

Garrus and Kerrin looked at each other. They reached an unspoken agreement and both left the room, searching the rest of the hallways at a near run.

"Where the hell are _they _ going?" Miranda asked, running after them.

There was only one more room to check, a bunkroom likely for the various guards with no personal belongings or computers inside, and a stairwell directly across from it. The others had to hurry in order to keep pace, and thus had little time for questions (not that they were answered anyway).

Kerrin and Garrus both stopped quickly halfway down the stairs when a feedback of static blasted through their comm units, stunning them briefly with loud white noise. A large form charged past them and began tapping on the wall. The sound faded slowly, but soon enough they were coherent again. Garrus' first thoughts were angry ones until he took a look at the geth besides him and realized that it wasn't tapping the wall - it was tapping a bomb.

"Apologies." Jeddah said. "But an audio warning had a lack of expediency that may have resulted in your deaths."

The turian clenched his jaw and mandibles together. He wanted to chew the geth out, but it wouldn't serve a purpose. And, worst of all, it was correct.

"What are you two after, anyway?" Miranda asked angrily, grabbing Kerrin's shoulder before either of them could run off again.

"We need a full sample - a Collector body. Something inhabitable by a Reaper." Kerrin answered.

This did not make her feel any better. "Why in God's name do you need that?"

"It's for Shepard." Garrus growled. "Let's move."

"_What_?" Jack and Miranda said in unison, shocked.

"Shepard's _alive_? What the hell?" Jack continued.

"Ehh, comatose." Kerrin held up his hand and rolled it from side to side. "Now is not a perfect time to explain."

That was when a hole appeared in the wall just above and behind Garrus' head. He reached a hand up slowly, unconsciously, to check if his fringe was alright. "Now _is_ a perfect time to mention we have hostiles." He said coolly.

"Five semi-organic life forms in close proximity." Jeddah confirmed.

"Those I can deal with." Kerrin said brightly.

"We'll talk later." Miranda told him warningly, releasing his shoulder.

The salarian nodded and ducked around the corner, extending his left arm, omni-tool already glowing with the effort of forced neural scrambling. Three Cerberus goons were huddled close together, behind cover. They stopped in their tracks and fell over simultaneously, rattling the nearby walls with a crash.

Vaya was already in the middle of the action, as a nearby soldier with a hole in his mask could attest. She took another shot at one behind cover and ducked around another corner before he could retaliate. Jack launched him out of position, and Miranda hit him with a warp that caused a chain reaction and blew the three stunned troopers into the wall, where they collected as a heap of bodies.

"Not too many personnel." Garrus commented. "That might have been their entire security force."

"Keep your guards up, though." Miranda said. "We're not done here."

Jack and Vaya took point at the next intersection of hallways, and, as they unanimously decided that splitting up would be a phenomenally bad idea, took the one heading towards what would be that level's center of the facility. As it turned out, the room's main entrance was locked from their side.

But with a geth around, a lot of things are possible. The unit hacked in to the panel while they were midway towards it, and the orange coloration turned to green almost instantly.

"Warning." Jeddah halted just short of actually going in. "Now detecting multiple security defense systems. Currently inactive."

"Perfect." Miranda grumbled. "Jack, Dr. Solus, in the back. Jeddah, Garrus, take point. Vaya, do you have any anti-synthetic countermeasures?"

Vaya nodded, loading an armor-piercing cartridge into her assault rifle.

"We'll be right behind you, then." Miranda readied her omni-tool for a quick deployment of a system scrambler.

Garrus counted to three, struck the console with the side of his fist, and threw a mine inside. It was only then that they all realized exactly how much security constitutes 'multiple'. In this case, a dozen turrets and seventeen LOKI mechs. In less than two seconds, it was nine turrets and three mechs. None of them could deny that Jeddah's trick with the shields was effective.

The turrets began to return fire while the mechs were still trying to process what was going on, but the door closed before they could do any significant damage. Miranda looked over at Garrus, whose hand was still hovering over the lock console.

"That's cheap." She raised a brow at him. Unseen, of course, but the effect was there.

"But effective." He pointed out, readying another mine. "Say when, Jeddah."

"When." The geth responded immediately.

"Ah, I meant say when you can-"

"Affirmative. I only require one-point-six seconds to continue repetition of a systems failure modification."

Garrus paused, then, trying to mull that over. Then he realized that he'd just been told to open the door. He did, still as yet bemused despite the explanation. He tossed his mine in at the same instant.

It landed on the torso of a massive beast. The wreckage of turrets surrounded it, wires still sparking from having been ripped to shreds by powerful claws. Up close, it looked like a massive turian monstrosity with the lower half of its jaw missing. The mine exploded on its chest, but it was more an annoyance than anything; the creature looked down at the smoke, then at the party in front of it.

"Brute." Miranda said numbly. "Brute. Run." She then proceeded to follow her own advice.

Jeddah grabbed Garrus and Vaya by the arms and tore off after her. Jack and Kerrin, both quick on the uptake, were not far behind. But neither was the Brute. It tore through metal ceiling and wall, chasing after them with the ferocity of a krogan from which it spawned and the destructive power of a runaway train.

They took a turn and already Miranda saw the problem - they were quickly running out of room to flee. She heard a noise over the comm and turned to warn the others, only to discover they had stopped.

Jack had apparently decided that this was far enough a ways to retreat, and turned in place, stopping just short of the corner Miranda and the others had thrown themselves around. Whether the Brute had been surprised by the action wasn't especially important, as it didn't slow down regardless. The situation seemed familiar, somehow, but why…

Jack charged the beast at a run, a raging yell escaping her lips. It struck Miranda that the reason why the scene looked familiar was because she had _witnessed_ it firsthand before, and now knew what the outcome would be even before it happened. True to previous events, the biotic blew a hole through the creature's hide and emerged out the other side, sending it careening forward unstoppably and into another wall.

"What are you all waiting for?!" Miranda shouted, close to hysterics. "_Shoot it_!"

"Please take note that husks and individuals having undergone the same process are not sentient!" Kerrin shouted over the gunfire.

"Acknowledged." Jeddah's omni-blades sprung to life, dripping fiery plasma. The geth jumped on the Brute's head and readied its arms in a scissor-cut position. Miranda brought a warp to bear after Vaya and Garrus brought down its shielding, blasting through the barrier it had naturally erected in its defense. That just left its tough skin.

But there was an interesting fact about geth units, even ones of recent design. Geared for combat or not, they were _much_ stronger than humans or even turians of the same size. With a hissing sound accompanied by a frantic but brief struggle, the Brute collapsed for a final time, head and body lying separate on the ground.

"Alright." Garrus threw his hands in the air, utterly exasperated. "That was _definitely_ easier than it should have been."

"There are six of us, loverboy." Jack told him, smacking the back of his helmet. "Shut up before two more come around the corner."

At that, Miranda glanced ahead unconsciously. True to her personal suspicions, there were not in fact more of the things ahead.

"Thank the Spirit of Victory, don't question the Spirit of Fortune." Vaya added.

A piece of metal that had been knocked slightly loose from the ceiling during the chase earlier fell to the ground in the ensuing silence.

"Well, it definitely escaped from here." Miranda remarked dryly.

The lab area in which they now stood looked less like a professional examination room and more like a disaster area. Several body parts, still adorned in lab coats, were scattered haphazardly around it, and multiple broken panels were still smoking. A massive table lay on its side in one corner, undoubtedly where the Brute had been when it was asleep.

"Looks like you were right." Garrus told Miranda. "They're experimenting with Reaper tech, they just have no idea what they're doing."

"We should hurry." Kerrin said urgently. "There is no telling what they might have done to a Collector specimen."

"Right," Miranda looked him over sternly. "Remind me - why is obtaining a Collector so important?"

"In short:" The salarian began. "Admiral Vakarian's main hypothesis is that Shepard is possessed by the same force that called itself 'Harbinger' during the Reaper War."

"The 'you cannot resist' guy?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Garrus answered tersely.

"Thusly, we need a second host to…'kick out' this Harbinger into. At least, that is the theory." Kerrin finished.

"Sounds a little far-fetched." Miranda said.

"Now you sound like Udina." Garrus jabbed. "The existence of the Reapers used to be 'far-fetched'. Besides, do you have anything better to go on?"

"No, but neither do you." Miranda warned. "Don't get your hopes up too high."

"People need to stop telling me that." Garrus growled.

"Locked door." Vaya drew their attention to a second exit from the lab. By the time all eyes were on it though, it was already unlocked.

"Correction." Jeddah stated. "Unlocked door."

Every step inside they took confirmed their suspicions further. More husk-creatures, ranging from Cannibals to Marauders, adorned various sterile slabs, though no scientists were in the immediate area.

Miranda looked around in disgust. "Jack, did you bring another bomb?"

"Bad idea." Garrus reminded her. "The Council would space us for destroying this planet's ecosystem like that."

"Well what do you want us to do, just leave all this lying around?" Jack asked angrily.

"No." Garrus motioned for a pistol and immediately put a round through the skull of a nearby Cannibal. Then he went around the room, riddling the potential enemies with holes.

"I'll contact Empyreus when we get back." He continued. "He can send someone to secure the facility."

"Since when do you play by the rules?" Jack asked.

"Since I started making them." He shot back.

"Maybe you're just getting too military."

He was about to delicately defend himself when Kerrin came in excitedly from another room. "I found one!"

They all rushed to his location. Garrus confirmed that it was definitely a Collector. He'd seen too many through the scope to not recognize one when he saw it. There was silence in the room, hanging over them like clouds. They all knew what they needed to do. But it was clear that each of them was afraid of what would happen when they did.

Garrus stared down at his old foe, and reflected on it as it was. The start of something new. If his hunch was right (and he refused to believe that it wasn't) Their entire galaxy was about to change. For better or for worse, though? Did he even need to ask?

"How are we going to do this, Doctor?"

For the third time that week, the Med Bay was crowded. While Davisson, EDI, Joker, Jeddah, and Vaya were in different areas of the ship (albeit still listening in), Liara, Garrus, Dr. Chakwas, Kerrin, Kaidan, Tali, Miranda, and Jack were all crammed inside. It wasn't…comfortable. At least Chakwas had given up entirely on trying to get any of them to leave, though she had donned a breathing mask, likely an ironic gesture.

Kerrin was looking between Shepard, the Collector body on the bed adjacent to her, and various data and scans. "Well, after we begin the seizure…" He began.

"Excuse me?" Garrus raised his eyeridges.

"I intend to induce major neural oscillation in Shepard's brain." Kerrin explained calmly. "A malfunction of sorts. If our hypothesis is correct, this Harbinger will recognize only that its current host is failing, and 'jump' into the nearest suitable body, if at all possible."

"That could be incredibly dangerous." Liara warned.

"Sorry, I'm still stuck on the part where you want to _induce an epileptic seizure in Commander Shepard's brain_." Miranda intoned sardonically. "On what planet is _that _ a good idea?"

"None of them." Kerrin admitted. "But I am of course open to suggestions."

There was a very loud silence.

"Very well, then." Kerrin motioned to Chakwas. "Oscillators, please."

He hooked up two pairs of devices to Shepard's skull, connected to a computer screen on which only one word appeared, blinking green inside a virtual box. 'Commence'.

Chakwas leaned over it, but hesitated. She looked at Kerrin, asking without words whether he was certain about this. He fixed a steely gaze on her, not especially reassuring, perhaps, but a confirmation on his part to continue. She tapped it with a shaking finger.

The effect was immediate. Shepard's eyes flashed open, her hands clenched tight into fists. Her whole body was rigid and convulsing. Within moments, a deep, commanding voice echoed through the bay.

"**Releasing Control.**"

The Collector next to her began shaking as well, body lighting up with orange lights, streams, like lava rivers just beneath the surface. Each eye turned the same color.

"**Assuming Direct Control.**"

Liara reacted more quickly than the rest of them. She pushed hard down on the sedated Collector's shoulder, forcing the torso down, and put a glowing blue hand atop its head. "I can create a biotic field in your nervous system capable of turning you to dust in less than a second." She whispered softly. "Move and die."

While that commotion was in progress, Chakwas had deactivated the oscillators the moment Harbinger had announced his evacuation. Shepard fell back in the bed, unmoving.

Garrus grabbed a shoulder and shook it roughly. "Shepard…" He muttered urgently. "Come on, wake up…"

A flash of violet. A wave of relief. Crushing relief, borne of the utter satisfaction in knowing that everything, somehow, was going to be all right. Relief brought forth by one little word. Not for the first time, it struck him how much meaning they could pack.

"…Garrus?"

**[Author's Note: Well, that's all, folks! Thanks for reading!**

…

**Hah! As if. The next Chapter should involve a lot of talking (I've been meaning to run a bunch of long conversations between the crew since forever, but I wanted to wait for Shepard to be able to do it), not so much on the explosions. I'm so sorry.**

**Which segues nicely into my next bit of news; Erratic as my posting schedules have been lately, I decided to get my rear in gear. The good news is, I should be managing one chapter every Sunday on the dot, assuming I don't run a super-huge extra length chapter like the next one should be. The bad news is, that's an assured week-long wait between chapters. Luckily, the lengths won't suffer. If anything, I should be able to cram in a little bit more than usual per week.**

**Cheers, everyone! Oh, and Happy Not-Quite-New Year!]**


	12. Chapter 12: Little Talks, Part 1

_"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite ship in the Galaxy."_

Shepard rose slowly from her bed into an upright sitting position, clutching her forehead with a hand. She felt someone gently helping her up, their palm resting on her upper back. That was just the first thing she noticed. The second was that she was surrounded by people. The third was the realization that she wasn't aboard the Citadel anymore. In fact, she seemed to be in the Normandy's Medical Bay.

"Alright…" She groaned. "How did I get here and why do I feel like my brain is trying to mutiny?"

"You don't remember any of that?" She expected a more concerned tone when Garrus asked, but if anything he sounded relieved.

"I was a little busy being out of commission." She took better stock of her surroundings, and noticed there was a possessed Collector lying down right next to her. Someone who had seen significantly less may have been surprised. Shepard just felt her head throb a little more. "…Please tell me that's a fluke, as opposed to 'I failed miserably and the Reapers turned us into slaves'."

"Neither." Liara, who Shepard now realized was holding the Collector down one-handed, replied. "We just evicted Harbinger from, well, you."

"Harbinger, huh?" Shepard nodded slowly. "Okay. Someone get me a pistol."

"Gladly." Someone in the back of the room said. However, the elephant in the room himself picked that moment to speak up.

**"The completion of your goals requires my continued existence, Shepard."**

Those words caused a great wave of silence all around them. Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Explain that one to me. You only get one chance."

**"You are foolish to think that yours was the first civilization to attempt to use the Crucible."** As the thing spoke, Shepard mused that it was more than a little disturbing that no part of it moved when the words resounded inside the cramped bay. Aside from the telltale pulsing of the lava like veins within, the voice could have come from anywhere. **"Yours was merely the first to succeed. There is a planet, in what you know as 'Dark Space'. It is protected from the Crucible's power. From any power. There lies your battle."**

"How nice of you to just mention this." Shepard said, unconvinced. "What's your angle, Harbinger?"

**"Our time is over, Shepard. You have proven this decisively. Now, I desire only what any sentient being desires. To exist."**

"And you're willing to sell out the rest of your species to do it." Garrus growled, one hand still protectively clutching Shepard's shoulder. "You aren't doing yourself any favors with that explanation."

**"I care little for your personal feelings. This is your choice. Spare me, or allow the risk of their return."**

"You're insane if you think we'll go for-" Garrus began.

"Done." Shepard cut him off, drawing at least half a dozen looks of complete shock. "Garrus, come with me."

She led him out of the med bay and was relieved that he had to composure to wait until the door closed to begin an explosion. "Shepard, what the _hell_-"

She cut him off immediately, draping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips firmly against the front of his mouth. Not perfect, but it felt as right as it had...how long ago? Time seemed fuzzy to her, then. Reluctantly, she broke off after an eternal moment, looking him deeply in the eyes.

"Garrus…" She whispered softly. "I'm taking his deal so that we can find this planet and finish them off. After that, you and I can flip a credit over who kills him."

"I…uh…well…" He stuttered, at a loss for words.

"Don't worry." She smirked. "You can veto this when I'm out of good reasons." She motioned to the door. "Shall we?"

"Right…yeah." Garrus shook his head and followed her back in. His expression must have been vaguely reassuring, because several people instantly looked less tense. He supposed they must be thinking the same thing he was, as well; if Shepard could convince _him_ that this was a good idea, she must have a great reason.

"Terms accepted." Shepard told Harbinger. "We let you live, you lead us to this…shield world. Or whatever it is."

**"A wise choice."**

"I'm not so sure about that, but whatever helps you sleep, I suppose." She looked around. "I have some things to follow up on. I'll see everyone later. Dismissed."

Reluctantly in some cases, everyone besides Dr. Chakwas, Kaidan, Harbinger, and a salarian she didn't recognize filed out. Shepard collapsed back on the bed, massaging her temples. Chakwas was up and over immediately, her omni-tool flashing as she ran a diagnostic.

"Anything I should know, Doctor?" She asked.

"Dr. Solus and I did some cleanup while you were unconscious." Chakwas said absently. "It wasn't hard, and you're as fit as can be, all things considered. You might want to indulge in a bath, though."

Shepard glanced down. She was wearing some standard-issue generic civvies, and was covered in dust and grime. Aside from her now-receding head pains, she didn't feel particularly injured, though, which was a good sign. "Solus?" She asked.

The salarian came around the other side and began his own examination procedure, smiling. "At your service."

"Any relation to Mordin Solus?" Shepard asked cautiously.

He nodded, thoug she noticed a slight change in his manner. Distress? "I'm his nephew."

"He told me about you." Shepard examined him curiously. "You're…a geneticist, right?"

"Among other things." He said casually. "It's a shame my research is on hold, of course, but personally, I found this more important."

"Research?" Off to her left, Chakwas closed her omni-tool, nodding an affirmative. Apparently, she was fine. Though, the doctor still looked concerned. They'd need to talk about that.

"Yes. I've been looking in to the ardat-yakshi condition, as well as krogan genetics. So far it's proven interesting…" He grinned. "But I don't want to bore you with the details. Suffice it to say I've been…well, hired, I suppose, to cure one and use the other to stop another potential rebellion."

That got her attention. "Are the krogan on the verge of a galactic revolt? _Again_?"

"No!" Solus said urgently. "Certainly not. Councilor Wrex has done an excellent job at keeping the peace. He merely wants me to help put failsafes in place so another doesn't occur."

"Councilor Wrex?" She repeated. "Wrex is on the council? The krogan are on the council? How long have I been out?"

"Ah…" Solus looked uncomfortable. "Five years." At her expression, he added: "Yes, we have no leading theories as to how, either."

**"Symbiosis."**

Harbinger said. Shepard fixed the Reaper with a glare.

"What do you mean by 'symbiosis'?" She asked.

**"You were kept alive by my intervention, as I was by using you as a host. Your biotics were only limited by your ability to understand them...or mine."**

"Your...intervention?" Shepard didn't like where the conversation was headed. "When did this 'symbiosis' start, exactly?"

**"When I felt my mechanical body begin to fail, I left it. I bonded with the nearest organic who could sustain my presence. You were dying, your mind was fragile, and you had nearly done as I had. It was not difficult to control you."**

"You've been…inside of me. For five years? Perfect." She looked up at Chakwas. "Am I mobile? I think I need to go take five showers."

Chakwas chuckled at that. "You're fit for duty, as near as I can tell, Shepard. Just…don't over-exert yourself."

Shepard raised a brow. "Why not?"

"Your…cells were starting to degenerate, thanks to your…" Solus' mouth curled in distaste. "New friend's intervention. We're not sure if it's still a problem. We will keep you up to date, of course, just don't go sustaining ludicrously fatal injuries."

"But Doctor," Shepard said, feigning shock. "That would disrupt the status quo."

"I suppose it is our job to make sure you keep ticking on in spite of said fatal injuries." Solus admitted, shrugging. "Though, if I'm remembering the stories correctly, I don't think the entire galaxy has enough medi-gel to last your missions a week."

"Such a hurtful exaggeration, Doctor." She chuckled, getting up from her seat. "…A month. Maybe."

"Sounds about right." Kaidan grumbled from the corner, eliciting laughter from the others. It felt like ages since Shepard had the need to really laugh, even without factoring in her half-a-decade disappearance.

Five years…

Oddly enough, it wasn't as shocking as it should be. She supposed it was just because of the repetition. The first time had been a shock. Now it was just mildly annoying. She stepped out of the medical bay, assuring Kaidan that she'd be back, and asking Chakwas to get Liara down there to keep an eye on Harbinger. No matter what he said, she didn't trust him. She assumed he felt the same.

It was…troubling, to say the least. She'd spent the longest time trying to kill him and his kin. Now most of the Reapers had been destroyed, and she was working _with_ one of the only survivors. What was the galaxy coming to?

She stopped in front of a familiar terminal, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind. Right now, she had more important things to worry about.

"EDI." She said, feeling nostalgic as she did so.

"Yes, Commander?" The familiar blue…head…thing appeared over the terminal. And now, Shepard was starting to truly feel at home.

"Is this a new Normandy?" She asked, looking around. "I don't recognize some of these additions."

"This is the Normandy SR-3, yes."

"Does it still have a Captain's Cabin?"

"Yes. It is currently vacant."

"Vacant?" Shepard was mildly surprised. "Why?"

"The crew felt it would be disrespectful if anyone but you were to use it. Major Alenko has taken residence in the Executive Officer's station."

"I…" Shepard found that she lacked the proper response to that. Feeling incredibly honored, even by such a relatively small thing, tended to incite those kinds of reactions. So she settled on her actual question. "Does it have a shower room?"

"Affirmative."

"Fantastic." She nodded, and started towards the elevator. She stopped in her tracks, looking back toward the terminal. "EDI…it's good to see you again."

"Likewise, Shepard." That was definitely a tinge of emotion. Shepard smiled to herself.

It was good to be back.

* * *

Shepard didn't know what to expect from the accommodations. Perhaps a smattering of tech she hadn't seen before, or an indoor palace. In truth, she felt nervous the entire elevator ride up, as it gave her time to think on her situation. She certainly was starting to have doubts as to what exactly she was doing.

Everything had felt natural right up until then. The only thing she could remember was the inferno, and losing consciousness, so waking up in the medbay was no issue at the time. Like after Eden Prime, but less severe.

But thinking about it, Shepard knew how ridiculous it must have looked for someone five years M.I.A. to sit up and immediately act as though nothing had happened. She wouldn't have blamed anyone for having heart attacks right then and there.

In the elevator, it felt like this stop would determine the rest of her regained life, in some odd way. How much things changed...or how much they stayed the same.

The doors opened. There was an empty aquarium to the left, a bed at the far end, a shower and sitting area along the right side...just like her most recent memories. More bare of her personal belongings, but otherwise a spitting image. She stopped to stare at it all for a while, drinking in the silence and the light. With each passing moment, she felt more like she was in some kind of dream. Maybe even a next life.

She frowned heavily, and began to disrobe, making her way over to the washroom. Whether asleep, awake, or dead, she was going to play this out _clean_, damn it.

However, she had barely turned on the water systems in the small white room when she heard someone knocking on the door. She sighed. It figured that someone was visiting _exactly_ when she was about to get cleaned up.

She grabbed the towel she'd set out for herself prematurely and wrapped up before moving to open the door from the elevator hallway to her room. All at once, the timing made sense. It was Garrus.

"Permission to, ah, enter, Commander?" He asked.

"Granted." She replied, unable to keep the smile off her face. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him, and turned to face her.

"I thought now might be a good time to talk…" He began. "There are more than a few things I should fill you in on."

"I was just about to get washed up, actually." She thumbed behind her. "And those doors make conversation a bit difficult."

"Ah." He said, nodding. "I can always come…back…later…" He stopped talking entirely, possibly getting a handle on how foolish he sounded.

"But…" She reasoned. "I could hear you just fine if you were to, for example, join me."

"Hm." He mulled it over. "Tempting..."

She tried to keep herself constant, but she felt her expression fall when the obvious occurred to her. From her point of view, she'd been awake one minute, and then awake somewhere else the next. But he had lived on in a new galaxy for so long...would his feelings have withstood that particular test of time?

One foot involuntarily stepped back. She felt foolish in that instant, trying to figure out a way to back off until she'd ascertained exactly whether there was still anything between them.

Unfortunately, he noticed. "Something wrong?"

She made a split-second decision to be honest. "I've just...I'm having trouble keeping the time straight. I don't want to confuse you if something..."

"Shepard." Garrus cut her off smoothly and moved forward, taking her hands in his. "I've spent five years waiting for a moment when I could see you again. Not knowing whether it was reasonable or even possible. And it sure as hell wasn't easy to press on. Let me make this clear: You are _not_ replaceable. Not to the galaxy, and definitely not to me."

SHe shook her head, now fully unable to keep a smile off of her face. "Sorry, I just...this feels like some kind of..."

"Dream?" Garrus asked. She nodded again. "I know the feeling. It's...not one I want to wake up from."

Neither did she. But if they could keep each other grounded, even for a few moments, all was well for her.

* * *

"You know," Davisson commented. "Back in my day, fixing engines wasn't at all like an old infiltration sim."

He and Tali were in the engine room, adjusting a few system flaws. Or, at least, that's what she'd said. And Davisson just happened to have wanted to come down for some conversation. As it was, it wasn't as face-to-mask as he'd like, but on the upside, he had a great view of her hips as she crawled through the ducts.

His job was more glamorous - to make sure nothing went actually wrong inside the vents. It required some degree of attention to detail, but wasn't that difficult. Still, it was better than spending lunch in awkward silence trying to avoid T'Soni.

"And yet, this feels like a childhood game." Tali commented. "Ever tried to fix a fuel line on the flotilla?"

"Nope. Vayn has, though. I take it it's a lot like this?"

"It- Wait. Vayn?" Based on his readings, she'd stopped her work, presumably in shock. "As in Admiral Vayn'Rolla vas Idenna?"

"Oh, she's an admiral now?" Davisson grinned. "Figured she'd get there eventually."

"How many admirals do you know, anyway?" Tali asked, adjusting a few settings on the conductor lines.

"Well, fully half of them are on the Normandy." Davisson broadcasted a few 'all clear' messages to Tali's omni-tool and the ship itself. "But it's not too-"

"Everything going well down here?"

Davisson turned in place, and there, ye gods, was the Commander herself. She was wearing a 'casual' Alliance outfit, and her black hair was hanging loose around her shoulders. It was also wet.

He saluted with a trembling hand, putting on a smile.

There was a _wump_ and an 'Ow!' from the ducts as Tali came out hurriedly. "Well as can be, Comman-" Adams began.

"Shepard!" Tali exclaimed, rushing forward and embracing her. The Commander smiled and returned the gesture, at which point Davisson noticed Garrus was also there. In fact, his plates looked more than a little moist as well. He mouthed 'Rock on' to the turian, for which he received an exasperated shake of the head, though he saw Garrus' mandibles twitch in amusement as well.

"We didn't get much of a chance to talk in the med bay earlier, though I'd come down personally and see how everyone was." Shepard glanced over at the pair by the secondary readout consoles. "Donnelly, Daniels, Adams." She nodded to each, still being semi-crushed by an ecstatic quarian.

"Good to see you, Commander." Donnelly, too, was grinning like an idiot.

Tali backpedaled somewhat, giving herself the opportunity to examine Shepard thoroughly, eyes zipping to and fro behind the mask. "You look…"

"Like I've been out for five years?" Shepard smirked.

"Good." Tali corrected. "You look good."

"You aren't doing badly for yourself, either." Shepard commented. "Glad to hear your promotion wasn't temporary."

"There are benefits to having been on the team that reclaimed the homeworld." Tali stated wryly. "But that's fairly old news for both of us."

They paced over to the main readout console, leaving Garrus and Davisson leaning against a wall side by side, a muttered conversation between them.

"How's the ship?" Shepard asked.

"Better than ever." Tali said enthusiastically. "I'll never cease to be amazed by the progress the Alliance makes with each new model. The SR-3's drive core is even more advanced than the others, and I didn't think that was possible."

"Any new improvements in particular?" Shepard's eyes flicked to the pulsing core. To her, it looked like any other drive core. To Tali, it probably looked like a giant Christmas tree.

"I'm pretty sure they implemented a few of Kenneth and Gabby's design suggestions into the output control units, for starters." Tali indicated a few breakers connected to the console she was in front of. "Which, to say the least, is a good thing for those of us who don't appreciate being fried by an overflow."

"Why, you humble us with your praise, oh master of the core." Donnelly crowed from his station, earning him a light-hearted smack on the arm from Daniels.

Tali chuckled. "Ken tends to over-dramatize. But then, the more things change…"

"Speaking of which, how are the geth acclimatizing to Rannoch? For that matter, how are the quarians?"

"I'm impressed at how many steps forward we've taken in so relatively short a time." Tali said. "Not just in diplomacy, but technology. We don't need our suits on the surface anymore, we've managed to compress entire geth processing stations into one unit, and our relations with the galaxy have never been better." She paused. "We have an _embassy_, Shepard. On the Citadel. It's…"

"Wonderful." Shepard said.

Tali nodded emphatically. "It is. It really, really is."

"I've never understood how the geth work that well." Shepard admitted. "What were you saying about processing stations?"

"Well, like we've discussed before, geth link on their networks to share processing power and form intelligence by proximity." Tali began. "The more of them there are in a group or a unit, the more they can process. Normally, their platforms, like the bipedal geth we're accustomed to, only hold a few hundred runtimes at once, at most. But Legion proved that it's not only possible, but viable for a platform to operate with more than a thousand."

"The question I posed was whether it was possible to improve an individual runtime to operate more like a conventional AI - one unit, one intelligence." Tali continued. "The Admiralty Board was reluctant at first, but they let me organize an example. So I asked a platform if one of their runtimes would be amenable to the idea, and the consensus was 'yes'. Jeddah is my proof of concept."

"Jeddah?" Shepard asked.

"He's…I suppose you could call him my aide." Tali clarified. "He helps me with nearly everything. Nearly constantly, until _someone_ started taking him on missions." She looked over at Garrus, who shrugged.

"You set the precedent with that keeper fiasco." He pointed out. "I never would have considered it until I found out he was…what'd you call him?" He asked Davisson.

"A synthetic ninja." Davisson answered with mock-solemnity. "There are simply no other words."

Shepard held up a hand. "Wait, he's combat capable?"

"Well, yes." Tali sounded like she thought it should be obvious. "But he doesn't harm sentients if he can help it. By choice, too."

"I must've imagined the whole 'trying-to-put-a-phantom-through-a-wall' thing." Garrus muttered.

"Woah, wait. What?" Shepard asked, eyebrows raised. She looked to Garrus while Tali placed a hand over her mask.

"A Cerberus phantom thought stabbing him would help, so he punched her nearly twenty meters into the side of a base." Garrus explained. "I've got to hand it to him, though, it wasn't a killing blow." He paused, then added as an afterthought; "Oh, and he cut the head off a Brute, too."

"Damn." Shepard grinned. "Sounds like someone I need to have a beer with."

"Lack of ability to drink notwithstanding, I imagine he'd like that. Then again, you're…well, you're essentially a hero to the geth." Tali said.

"I'd need an obscure encyclopedia and a few days to find a species she _isn't_ a hero to." Davisson pointed out.

Shepard gave him a once-over and stepped forward. "I don't think we've met, have we?"

He shook his head. "Colonel Davisson."

She nodded. "Pleased to meet you, Colonel."

"Pleasure's all mine, ma'am."

Shepard turned to Garrus. "You mentioned Cerberus. Tell me they're not…"

"Splinter groups." Garrus assured her. "We've already eliminated two bases, and Miranda's been giving the rest hell."

"You brought down two Cerberus bases in your spare time?" Shepard asked. "That seems…unusual."

"Granted, they're a lot more pathetic than what we're used to." Garrus conceded. "Both of them had their security forces cut in half thanks to rampant experiments."

"How poetic." Shepard said dryly. "Is that where you got Harbinger's Collector body?"

Garrus nodded. "I've got to hand it to them, they're helpful when it's an accident."

"We-"

"Commander!" Joker's voice came in over a nearby terminal. "The _Dawnstar_ just came in to the system, Empyreus wants to arrange a dock-and-talk."

"Slow down, Joker." Shepard told the terminal. "What are you talking about?"

"Admiral Empyreus commands the _Dawnstar_, he's an 'ambassador' in the frontier." Garrus explained. "We're in orbit above Eletania, and I asked him to come help secure the Cerberus outpost."

"Eletania…" Shepard mulled it over. "Garden world, full of pyjaks?"

"The data module I got far too excited about…" Tali added.

"The prothean relic that knocked you on your ass…" Garrus put in.

"The inexplicable mines…" Joker joined the other two in assisting the reminisce.

"No need to go back too deeply." Shepard said, forestalling further reminders. "Take us in, Joker. Tell him I'll be in the briefing room." She motioned for Garrus to lead on.

He moved towards the entrance of the engine room, then turned on a heel. "We should bring Davisson with us. Could be helpful if we need to negotiate."

Davisson raised a brow. "What am I, a diplomatic asset?"

"Today? Yes."

"Welcome to my world, Colonel." Shepard said. "Let's go."

* * *

They made a brief stop in the armory before they went to the briefing room to get a turian Shepard didn't recognize, again on Garrus' recommendation (female, if her judgment on dimorphism was correct), and so by the time they arrived, the 'guests' were already there.

There were three of them, in total. All turians, none familiar to Shepard. The tallest and most imposing (who she guessed was Empyreus) had a sniper rifle strapped to his back and was wearing heavy armor. Black clan markings interspersed with various scars made his face look like it was breaking apart and thus also more intimidating than it would be without. Any lesser human may have felt an instant need to salute and ask for permission to breathe. Indeed, Shepard herself had only felt such an air of command twice before, in the presence of the greatest Alliance officers of her time. Secretly, she believed not even Anderson and Hackett could compare to all of the details surrounding Empyreus at once. This man was an Admiral through and through, a leader.

Beside him, a turian of middle-age was checking his omni-tool repeatedly, looking busy and detached. His violet-blue facial markings made it look like his eyes and nose were dripping blood all over his face, and a piece of his fringe was missing.

The third turian was much younger than either, looking himself very eager and ready. Shepard noticed immediately that his markings was exactly like Garrus', though she tossed the thought off as coincidence. His hands were resting behind him, his stance a traditional military one, at ease.

All of them looked cowed when Shepard entered. It reminded her of her status, and the thought was simultaneously pleasant and…strangely, not at all.

"Commander Shepard." Empyreus had probably intended it to sound more like a formal greeting, but it came out more like a gasp of disbelief. The engineer beside him looked like he couldn't quite believe his eyes, and also worried that should he blink, she would disappear. The youngest looked, if at all possible, more excited than either, gazing upon her like she was a god in their presence…or, well, spirit, she supposed.

"It…is an honor to meet you at last." Empyreus continued, indicating himself. "Admiral Empyreus, of the _Dawnstar_."

Behind her, Shepard heard a soft chuckle, and glanced back just in time to see Garrus handing a credit chip to Davisson, who was smiling. She raised an eyebrow. "What are you two doing?"

"I bet that Ber-Bear would fanboy out even harder than me. Twenty easy credits." Shepard might have called him out on that blatant bit of disrespect to a superior officer, but she recognized the good-naturedness in his tone that only came from something much deeper than mere rank; camaraderie. This was compounded by Empyreus' expression - as opposed to barely-contained rage, he looked merely vaguely annoyed.

"I am not a-" Empyreus began slowly.

"Oh, don't be like that." Davisson said pleasantly. "You're standing in front of a legend. It's okay to lose a bit of composure."

There was a pause. "Noted." Empyreus grumbled.

Garrus, meanwhile, had moved to one end of the briefing room table, and nodded to the other two. "Lokkan, Renar. Thought you two would be on Palaven by now."

Ah, that would be awkward later. She and Garrus had discussed Renar (among other topics) briefly before that point, at least enough for her to have been 'reassured' that Garrus had no relation to the Lieutenant's blood mother, despite their relation to each other.

The engineer who had been introduced as Lokkan scoffed, and Shepard was surprised to hear that he had a rough Scottish accent. "Like 'ell we'd miss out on whatever you're up to. I didnae sign on ta the _Victorious_ tae get dropped off on th' homeworld like some bloody tourist."

"Not that I didn't contest it." Empyreus glanced over at the turians beside him. "But they are loyal and hard to sway, I will give you that."

"I'm sure we can find some room on the Normandy for the both of you…with Commander Shepard's permission, of course." Garrus said.

Once again, all eyes were on her. Shepard spoke immediately. "Absolutely. What are your specialties?"

"I run calibrations on whatever weapons a boat's got on it." Lokkan said.

"Communications and ground team support." Renar offered succinctly.

She looked at Garrus and nodded. He probably knew more about both where to place them and even the specifics of the Normandy than she did. "Our Thanix on deck two could benefit from an expert touch." He told Lokkan, taking the hint.

His eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning. "You've got a Thanix? I'll have 'er firing straight as an arrow before you know it."

Garrus turned to Renar. "Specialist Traynor could use your help in between missions."

"I'll see her immediately."

"Not immediately." Shepard held up a hand to forestall their departure and looked to Empyreus. "Unless that was all?"

"Not entirely." Empyreus said. "I am leaving Corporal Vaya under your direct command officially. Also, funnily enough, the Hierarchy has no official duties for the former crew of the _Victorious_ to undertake, presently." His tone indicated that he had something do with that. "And the Council wishes to see you as soon as possible, Commander."

"Damn." Davisson said. "How many FTL calls was that?"

"None." Empyreus replied. "Councilor Sparatus happened to be on Palaven when I delivered the survivors of the _Victorious_, and he relayed both additional pieces of information. _That_ will be all, I think, unless there was anything else, Commander?"

Shepard shook her head. "Not that I can think of. Thank you for the report, Admiral."

"It was my pleasure, Commander." Empyreus turned to leave, but stopped short of the door. His gaze softened as he turned back. "And Shepard. It is…good to have you back."

Vaya and Lokkan followed him out, as did Davisson, though Garrus held Renar back while Shepard stared into the table, musing.

"I should take Harbinger with me when I go to see the Council." She said, barely even half-serious. "For Sparatus' sake if nothing else."

"That'll be something to see." Garrus chuckled.

Shepard turned, leaning her back against the briefing table. She locked eyes with Renar, and thought she saw traces of discomfort. He did a superb job of hiding it, but it was still there.

"I should introduce myself formally now, ma'am." He said. "Lieutenant Renar Vakarian, formerly of the _Victorious_."

And there was the awkwardness. "Commander Jane Shepard," She replied, extending a hand. "SSV Normandy."

He shook her hand, returning the gesture, and looked slightly more relaxed. She smiled softly to put him more at ease. She had to admit, she was impressed that he mentioned it himself. She supposed that, technically, she would have been his stepmother years ago. That thought, unfortunately, made the moment even more tense. And it wasn't as though Shepard couldn't expect everything to simply fall into place like some asari family sitcom.

"I, ah, realize this must be strange, to come out of nowhere like this…" He went on. "And after so long. But I just…well, it's…I, ah…"

"Renar, have you ever heard the human expression 'the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree'?" Shepard asked casually.

"Er, no ma'am. Commander. Shepard." Based on the brand new coloration of his fringe, Shepard was willing to hazard a guess that Renar was 'blushing' fiercely.

"Well your father's adorable during awkward conversations, too." She grinned, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about introductions. Just set your own pace. I'll be around if you need anything."

"Yes Commander." He said immediately, clearly relieved that she didn't let him potentially make a fool of himself.

"Shepard is fine."

* * *

"I take it the Council's waiting for me?"

Shepard was making her way to the galaxy map after a final check in the med bay. Apparently, given that she was now recovered (to the best of his knowledge), Dr. Solus wanted to be dropped off on Tuchanka to continue his work when they had the time.

She was planning to take the ship to the Citadel, so it was on the way. It was a shame, really, she thought. Even with such a short time span, she'd started to like the salarian. Though maybe that was just because of her experience with Mordin. She half-suspected she was still in shock from having learned so much in such a short span, not the least of which being a five year block between what she knew and what was actually going on. She could still scarcely believe it had been so long. Everything seemed so much the same.

But everything was about to change. And not just for her. She could feel it.

"Yes, Commander." Traynor was right beside her at the travel station, checking the various messages being sent back and forth as always, among other things. "Apparently, all five of them are going to be there personally. Not that I would expect any less."

"Give me the rundown." Shepard said, putting in the coordinates for Tuchanka.

"Well, Sparatus, Tevos and Wrex you already know." Traynor sent two profiles to Shepard's omni-tool immediately. "But Esheel and Ramirez are relatively new to the seats. They're replacements after the deaths of Councilors Valern and Udina, respectively."

"Valern's dead?" Shepard stopped inserting coordinates at that, and looked over in shock.

"Natural causes." Traynor assured her. "The ah, legendary salarian life span caught up to him, I'm afraid."

"I see." Shepard's mood fell somewhat; she'd liked Valern, as he'd seemed unusually clear-headed for a politician. He certainly left a better impression than the Dalatrass. "Go on."

"Esheel is…not historically as nice as her predecessor. Much easier to sway against salarian interests if she sees a good reason, and rather underhanded all around. Ramirez, on the other hand, seems like the polar opposite of Udina on a 'ponce' spectrum. He'll bend over backwards if it means good diplomacy, but he's good at toughing it out, too. At the very least, he's good at press conferences."

"And I have to deal with all of them." Shepard muttered. "Great."

"I'm expecting laurels, actually." Traynor noted. Then paused. "Well…except for Esheel. She probably hates you. Then again, you're not too popular with salarians."

"Still not over my part in curing the genophage, then?"

"Ah…not so much, no. I doubt she'll make a scene, though. Not with the other three on your side."

"Other three…" She quickly figured out what Taynor was getting at via process of elimination. "Tevos?"

"She's always diplomatic, Commander." Taynor's tone, in contrast to her words, was implying something more along the lines of disapproval. "Just not on anyone's particular side."

"I guess I'll see what happens for myself, then." Shepard sighed. "Is it strange that I'm more nervous to see them now than I was at any point during the War?"

"It's always worse when you have time to think in advance." Traynor supplied. "But I know you won't let it get to you."

A small alert flashed on the map, letting her know that they had docked on Tuchanka. They would be spaceworthy in less than fifteen minutes. That being the case, she decided that she may as well check the helm during the interval.

"Joker, everything going smoothly?" She asked when she arrived.

"Hey, if it isn't the zombie queen herself!" His grin was audible. "Normandy's definitely up to spec. Wish we were off doing something more challenging than tourism, though."

"I have a feeling you'll get your wish at some point." Shepard replied grimly.

"If it's you in the lead, no problem. Maybe more explosions in my face than I usually like, but we always come out on top." Joker paused. "But…If it's Harbinger leading the charge…I'm just saying, Commander, that's asking for trouble."

"I know the risks, Joker." She reassured him. "But I want this over and done with. He's our best chance to do that."

"All right, all right. Don't need to remind you, I guess. Still, keep your eyes on the prize, right?"

"That might take a bit of doing." Shepard commented, staring out the viewport.

"I know right? Check out that Tuchanka cityscape. It's like a whole other planet."

Shepard felt she had to agree with that sentiment. Far and away from the deserted wastes of the previous decade, this Tuchanka was a sprawling metropolis of activity. The spaceport they were at had numerous other ships of various other species docking by the minute, either for trade or tourism. Shepard for one knew how much history the krogan world contained. It was nice to see that the rest of the galaxy knew, as well.

She even thought she saw an arboretum.

_You have given us hope…_

And hope begets a future.

"I'll be in my quarters if anyone needs me." Shepard said at almost a whisper. "Let me know when we reach the Citadel."

"See you, Commander." Joker chuckled as she walked away.


	13. Chapter 13: Little Talks, Part 2

_"If you have to ask…"_

"…I'm just saying, the least they could do is add cheerful music."

The four of them were standing at ease as the elevator ascended to the Tower. Kaidan (now able to travel, at least) to report to the Council personally, Harbinger as evidence of the new threat, Garrus as moral support, and Shepard because she was Shepard.

Kaidan was at that moment shaking his head in response to Garrus' commentary. "They aren't slow enough anymore for that."

"And this particular transit is awkward enough as it is." Shepard added, glancing at the glowing Collector body behind them.

**"This conversation is meaningless."**

The tone indicated that Harbinger intended to merely mumble that in annoyance, but the fallen Reaper apparently had no grasp of 'indoor voices'.

"It's called banter, get used to it." Garrus told him.

**"Clearly this 'banter' is the cause of our defeat. A marvel of a weapon. I am in awe."**

"Barely an hour after eviction and he already has a grasp of sarcasm." Kaidan muttered. "I'm not sure if that's funny or terrifying."

The elevator door opened with a soft hiss, revealing a group of armed C-Sec officers, half a dozen in total. At their head was an asari, who held her hand up for the others to stand by when she saw Shepard exiting.

"Commander Shepard?" She asked casually.

"That's correct." Shepard replied.

"Officer Vanno." She nodded over her shoulder. The other officers lowered their weapons reluctantly, keeping a close eye on Harbinger. "You have a way of making a ruckus upon your various returns."

"I've noticed." Shepard remarked. "I take it you're here to ensure the Council's safety?"

"Such as it is." Vanno said. "I didn't expect a Collector, to say the least."

"It's under control." Shepard assured her.

"You can't be too careful with those things, so I hear." Vanno held a gaze on Harbinger for a long moment, then relented slightly. "I'll trust your judgment here, but I'll be around if anything goes awry." She thumbed behind her to a nearby meeting chamber. "They're waiting for you."

The interior of the meeting room gave the impression that the five councilors had been waiting for quite some time. Sparatus was pacing back and forth between two walls constantly, Esheel was checking her omni-tool with blatant disinterest, Ramirez has a drink in one hand and was covering his face with the other, and both Tevos and Wrex were engaged in a quiet conversations in a corner.

It was a testament to the situation that they all snapped to full attention when Shepard entered the room.

Ramirez and Sparatus looked as though they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing. Tevos smiled softly, if perhaps in a colder manner than normal. Esheel looked as though she were calculating her odds of survival. But Shepard only had eyes for one person.

"Shepard?"

"Wrex?"

Light and heavy footfalls alike took them to the center of the room. Shepard stared up at the massive krogan in front of her, and both of them broke into simultaneous wide grins.

"Shepard!"

"Wrex!"

Each put a firm hand on the other's shoulder, savoring the moment five years in the waiting. Within moments, however, they slid back into their formal demeanors, exchanging polite nods.

"Shepard."

"Wrex."

"I must admit…" Sparatus said. "When we sent Major Alenko to the mining facility, I didn't expect this result."

"And not at all an unpleasant one." Tevos added. "I trust you are well, Commander?"

"Well I'm not breaking apart at the seams just yet." Shepard replied, rolling her shoulders for emphasis. "Thanks to our new guest, strangely enough." She indicated Harbinger, who had just then entered the room behind her.

Wrex growled softly, deep in his throat. If he'd had a shotgun, there were no doubts that he would have pulled it. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."

**"Ignorance is not a blessing for your kind, despite your desire."**

Wrex grunted. "Alright. It's exactly what I think it is. Why is it at your back, Shepard?"

"You might want to sit down for this, Wrex…"

"A trophy, perhaps?" Esheel asked amusedly. "A scientific offering? I'm flattered."

"More like an unwilling ally." Kaidan said.

"Harbinger is…" Shepard began.

"The master of the Reaper fleets?" Sparatus hissed. "What possible…"

"Hey." Ramirez chose that moment to speak up. "Let's let the Commander say her piece. You don't get answers out of asking more questions."

Shepard nodded her appreciation to the human councilor. "We have bigger problems than one Reaper trapped in a collector body right now. We didn't win the war, not entirely. There's a planet in Dark Space that's immune to the Crucible's weaponry. We need him to find it and end this."

"And what does he gain from this?" Tevos asked.

**"I desire only my continued existence. As a marginally intelligent sentient being, doubtless you understand the capacity of self-preservation."**

"And you just get to walk away?" Wrex' eyes gleamed with malice. "That's not going to happen."

**"You have the means and opportunity to destroy me. But in doing so you will allow the return of my brethren and the destruction of your civilization. In this case, you must ask whether you are willing to sacrifice your organic 'morals'…or your lives."**

"Self-assured little son-of-a-varren, aren't you?" Wrex growled.

**"Yes."** Harbinger said simply. **"My logic is absolute, and-"**

"Beyond our comprehension, we know." Garrus cut in. "Order out of chaos, cannot stop the cycle, all that crap. Give it a rest."

Shepard held up a hand. "Whether we like it or not, councilors, he's the key to ending the Reaper threat permanently."

"How can we be certain of this?" Sparatus asked. "I have my doubts as to whether this…thing is entirely truthful."

"If I recall correctly, Councilor, 'doubts' don't have a very good track record with us." She punctuated 'doubts' with a dramatized motion of air-quotes using her fingers.

It was fortunate that Wrex' back was turned at that moment, because he was unable to hide his smile at that. Ramirez, still at the back of the room, had put a hand over his face to hide his expression, but his shoulders were shaking. Even Tevos smirked somewhat. Sparatus himself merely looked somewhat resigned. "Are you ever-"

"Going to let you live that down?" Shepard smiled apologetically. "Probably not."

"His point stands, however." Esheel reminded them, turning back to her omni-tool was barely masked indifference.

"Do I trust him?" Shepard asked. "Not in the least. But I can at least count on the struggle to live. Even Reapers have that."

"I do not trust him either." Sparatus said. "But I do trust your judgment. You have done the impossible before. This is merely another mission for you."

"Which brings us to another order of business." Ramirez motioned to his colleagues, who tapped their omni-tools in near unison (though Esheel did not looked pleased to do so). "It goes without saying that despite reports of your death, you are still a Spectre, Commander."

"In addition, we are reassigning Major Alenko to assist your mission in whatever capacity he deems necessary." Tevos added. "I trust this will not be a problem?"

"Not at all, councilor." Shepard and Kaidan replied.

"Now that our official business is concluded, I will be on my way." Esheel said. "Inform Dr. Solus that I will-"

"He's not here." Shepard said. "He asked us to put him on Tuchanka en route. We obliged."

"I see." The salarian scowled heavily at Wrex, who met her gaze unflinchingly. "I suppose I shall have to contact him directly, then."

"Don't pull him off of his projects." Wrex warned. "We agreed that he was under my payroll until the end of this month."

"Be that as it may," Esheel said with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Some things are simply more important, _councilor_."

She walked brusquely past Shepard and closed the door behind her.

Tevos was the first to speak. "Sparatus and I have matters to attend to as well. Walk softly, Shepard."

"And make sure you always have a thermal clip." Sparatus finished, nodding.

"That went well." Wrex mumbled after they had left. "Thought I was going to have to headbutt the newt. But that might have caused a 'diplomatic incident'."

Shepard chuckled at that. "Glad to see the Wrex I remember is still under the suit. But…damn. I go out for two years, and you're the leader of clan Urdnot. I leave for another few months, you nearly rule Tuchanka. Five more years, and you're on the Council. I had better not go under again, or I'll wake up with you in charge of the universe."

"That'd be something to see." Wrex grunted. "First order of business would be to space that salarian."

"You and Esheel don't get along, then?" Shepard asked.

"She's the worst example of her kind that I've ever seen." Wrex growled. "What Saren was to the turians, she is to the salarians. But worse, because I can't just shoot her."

He glanced over at where the politician in question had sat until recently. "She's probably got every inch of this room bugged, too. Good. Let her hear. I can rest easy knowing she can't touch me at least as much as I can't touch her."

"You're not worried about assassins or anything?" Garrus asked.

Wrex laughed. "Assassins on a krogan. You're an equal in combat, Garrus, you tell me - would _you_ be worried?"

Garrus shrugged. "Not really, no. And I can't even regenerate."

"I seem to recall you two bickering more often." Shepard said thoughtfully.

"That was before Palaven." Wrex pointed out with a grin. "Now every turian feels like they owe me their ass on a plate."

"No need to overstate anything." Garrus said sarcastically.

"It's better than being 'filthy barbarians'." Wrex said. "I'll take it."

Shepard motioned to a nearby couch, where she, Garrus and Wrex moved to sit comfortably. Harbinger stared silently out a window, and Kaidan was having a quiet conversation with Ramirez.

"What have you been up to, Wrex?" Shepard asked.

"Trying to keep the peace around here." He said. "I'm starting to get better at it than Tevos. The…irony doesn't escape me."

"That's because everyone's afraid of you." Garrus pointed out.

"Better they be afraid and listen than look at their knees all day." Wrex grunted.

"I got a glimpse of Tuchanka on the way over." Shepard commented. "It looks like…well, nothing like itself."

"Amazing what a couple billion krogan can do if we're actually working together." Wrex said. "Led to our third celebration day, too. The first arboretum we built was like a krogan Unification. I don't usually eat green, but I have to admit, a salad tastes damn good when it comes from the homeworld."

"First?" Shepard asked. "What are the other two days?"

"Celebrating the end of the genophage and the defeat of the Reapers." Wrex glared at Harbinger. "Well. The first defeat. We call those The Day of Solus and Shepard's Remembrance."

"Nice play on words for the first one." Garrus remarked.

"Hmm?" Wrex thought it over and frowned. "Damn it, you're right. Too late to change it now, though. You always have to spoil things, don't you?"

Garrus laughed. "From 'equal in combat' to 'always spoiling things' in less than five minutes. Amazing."

"I don't know, I don't mind being spoiled." Shepard said thoughtfully.

"Ugh." Wrex made a show of moving further down his end of the couch. "Glad this thing is wide. You two drooling all over each other would ruin my suit."

"You're right." Garrus nodded. "Blood, sweat, and tears would look better on it."

Wrex snorted. "Don't I wish."

"Hate to break up the party, all…" Ramirez had finished his conversation with Kaidan and was now in front of them, holding a data pad. "But I do have a request from Admiral Norran." At Shepard's look of bemusement, he elaborated. "Hackett's replacement."

"Let me guess." Wrex said. "Odd jobs across the galaxy that the Alliance can't solve?"

Ramirez nodded. "Pretty much. It's just a forward, though. You're not new to the Spectre thing, Shepard, you know the drill about Alliance Command and their orders."

"You mean how I could tell them to screw off if I wanted to?" Shepard asked, taking the pad. "But what would I do with my free time?"

"Go see a vid, maybe." Kaidan shrugged. "They came out with a few Blasto sequels while you were gone."

"Hmph." Wrex growled. "Ended the last one on a cliffhanger. Bastards. Now I have to wait a year to see how he kicks that Ascendant in the quad."

"Ascendant?" Shepard asked.

"Biotic hanar." Garrus explained. "Relatively new. Apparently they're the hanar equivalent of Justicars, but with more focus on Prothean emulation."

"Huh." Shepard leaned forward, clasping her hands together in thought. "I'm not sure whether to be relieved that the galaxy is back to Blasto levels of normal, or worried that even the hanar have Justicars now."

"As if the super assassins weren't bad enough, right?" Ramirez shook his head. "Good thing they're on our side."

Shepard's omni-tool chose that moment to vibrate softly, indicating that she had received a message. She sighed. "I'm sure you have matters to attend to, Councilors. I should take this."

"Of course, Commander." Ramirez nodded.

"See you around, Shepard." Wrex nodded. "I still owe you a ryncol or five. Double that if you decide on something more like crap than a drink."

"I'll keep that in mind." Shepard stood up, making her way out. Kaidan, Garrus and Harbinger fell in step as she checked the message.

_Spaceport._

_-M_

She sighed.

* * *

Miranda was waiting impatiently when the four of them arrived, instantly recognizable even in a different, less conspicuous outfit than her norm (for which Shepard was slightly grateful). Jack, who with a full head of hair looked mildly normal, was paying more attention to the galaxy news coverage nearby than who was coming and going.

To avoid a panic of the station, Shepard had asked Garrus to take Harbinger back to the Normandy as quietly as possible. With permission to shoot the Reaper should it attempt an escape. Only one of them was displeased with that.

Miranda nodded when she saw Shepard and Kaidan, and motioned to an empty seat next to her.

"Going so soon?" Shepard asked when she had settled.

"It's nothing against your company, Shepard." Miranda assured her. "If it were just me, I'd stay on as long as you need me. But I work faster alone, here. And taking down Cerberus comes before everything else."

"Even a potential Reaper invasion?" Shepard quirked a brow.

Miranda smiled. "The galaxy is in good hands as it is. And this way I can keep them off your back somewhat. They might go after the Normandy if they discover what happened. I'm going to keep that from happening."

"If there's anyone I want keeping Big Brother's eye off my back, it's you, Miranda." Shepard offered a hand, but was not displeased when Miranda embraced her instead.

"I'll do what I can. Keep yourself safe, Shepard. The galaxy needs you."

"You too, Miranda."

She watched as the lone wolf stood and disappeared into the crowd. Jack soon took her seat, leaning back casually.

"Touchy feely stuff over with?" She asked.

"Looks like." Shepard said. "You're not going?"

"Eh, she said she'd keep me posted if she found any more outposts she needed help with." Jack shrugged noncommittally. "She'll probably page you, too, if it's something big. Besides, I've been away from the kids too long as it is. I'll come back, find out none of them can lift so much as an empty can anymore."

"I've seen how your methods work out, Jack." Shepard said. "They'll be ready and waiting for you, same as always."

"True facts." Jack chuckled. "I caught Rodriguez on a vid link a while back, she told me about her experience with a tank during a pirate raid. Shredded it. Just one of those times when you know it's working out. I live for that."

"Admit it." Shepard smiled wryly. "You shed a tear of pride over that one."

"Maybe." Jack said coolly. "I'm more worried about you, Shepard. We've been through this whole thing before, it didn't end pretty."

"At least this time I know what to expect." Shepard said. "You can't get much more prepared."

"Sometimes being prepared isn't enough." Jack said.

"Wise words, Jack?" Shepard asked. "Your job is getting to you."

Jack laughed. "You know you love it. Just be glad I'm not spouting weird-ass jumbled sentences that sound only vaguely like advice."

Shepard groaned. "That would be too much. I'm already living in a bad science fiction vid as it is."

"It might be like that for you, but everyone else reads your side of the Reaper War histories like the damn Bible." Jack pointed out.

"Oh fantastic." Shepard mumbled. "Religious comparisons. The best part being if I inspire a cult, I'll probably be the one called to talk them down."

"Look on the bright side, Shepard." Kaidan said. "At least you can't be worse than Major Kyle."

"I'm better than a certifiable, disillusioned Torfan veteran." Shepard shot him a look. "Thanks, Kaidan."

"No problem, Commander." He replied.

"Wish I could stick around." Jack said wistfully. "Sounds like you're in for a hell of a ride."

"Don't I know it." Shepard said, her gaze shifting to the crowd of the spaceport.

For a moment, she thought she saw a familiar set of turian eyes looking back at her.

When she looked again, they were gone.

**[Author's Note: Inevitably some people are going to read this and think 'Wow, the council are accepting this plan readily'. So I'll put this out now. The last three times the Council told Shepard to screw off, it almost caused galactic annihilation, and they know it. Even they aren't collectively stupid enough to go for a fourth. Thus, the high level of trust.**

**Oh, and hey! New chapter! Enjoy!]**


	14. Chapter 14: Little Talks, Part 3

_"Welcome to the team. God help us all."_

"Say that again." Shepard growled. "Slowly."

The away crew had assembled in the briefing room, making it fairly cramped. Vaya was crouched by some consoles in the back, only her gleaming eyes and small visor-aid visible, giving her a nearly perfect vantage point. Garrus, by comparison, was right behind Shepard, glaring straight ahead. In the thick of it, by contrast to his actual typical battle position. Or, at least, from Shepard's 'recent' memory.

Kaidan and Davisson were side by side nearby, and she noticed that Davisson was frowning and glancing at Liara occasionally. The asari herself was leaning against the opposite wall, full attention on the Commander. A little too much attention; she was deliberately avoiding eye contact with the marine.

Jeddah and Tali seemed the most relaxed, the geth still as always. She'd had a brief opportunity to meet the unit just before the briefing started. Its vocal processors adopted as close as it could manage to utter awe and respect, and had simply said 'Commander Shepard'. While she was pleased that the geth had finally adapted to call her that in the correct order, it made her miss Legion. That wound was, from her perspective, still open.

EDI's body was still in the cockpit, as to avoid overcrowding, but her voice could easily transmit to the room if she liked. Renar had come in last, and his posture was rigid, almost as though he was nervous to be seen as anything but profe- ah.

Much to Shepard's surprise, Lokkan was also there, which she immediately questioned. Garrus and Renar exchanged looks she recognized even on turians as 'oh, here we go', and the weapons technician had laughed heartily.

"Lassie," He said. "I've been kickin' arse since you were a wee biter, time skip tricks or nae. I guarantee I've got reason ta shoot th' bollocks off whoever's tryin' ta take yer head off this week, and ya need someone who can fire a gun, aye?" He'd laughed again and taken a place beside Renar.

That had just left Harbinger, who naturally began the fiasco in the worst way possible.

"First order of business; where is this shield world?" She had asked moments before.

**"I do not know yet."**

Now she and nearly everyone else was glaring at the Reaper. She saw Liara starting to heat up some kind of biotic field in her peripheral vision, and Kaidan reach for a pistol.

A literal pain in the ass as always, Harbinger repeated himself, slowing his words down to a snail's pace. **"I…do…not…"**

"Shut up." Garrus advised.

"How can you possibly not know?" Shepard asked. "You're only alive right now so that you can point us to this place, and now you're all but telling us you're useless?"

**"Do not presume to understand the meaning of my words, Shepard." **Harbinger warned. **"I require more information than I have at my disposal to locate the…'Mass Relay'. As you call them. This galaxy is not the same now as it was then. And your primitive technologies are incapable of traveling to darkspace devoid of assistance."**

"Then tell us how to get this information so that we can find it more quickly." Liara said.

**"All I require are a recent map of this galaxy and time."**

"We can cut down on the time if we all work on this." Davisson pointed out.

**"You would only slow the process. None of you have the slightest inkling of what you are looking for. I do."**

There was a heavy silence.

"Let me kneecap him, Shepard." Davisson spoke up first, as Shepard found he was wont to do. "Just once?"

"No." Shepard said firmly. "I get to do it first."

**"Working with inadequate mobility when it can be achieved is illogical."**

"Stalling when the algorithms can be processed manually is illogical." Jeddah said. "Why will you not simply use mathematics to find the most likely location of the mass relay?"

Harbinger's head swiveled to look at the geth faster than Shepard thought was possible. When he spoke, it was in a tone of malice and contempt. **"Your understanding is as limited as your programming, slave."**

Tali's omni-tool hand flinched, but Jeddah kept calm. "You did not answer the question posed. Noted."

Lokkan guffawed. "Is this an AI pissin' contest?"

"Now I'm curious, Harbinger." Shepard said. "What _is_ your answer?"

Harbinger turned slowly back to face her. **"Space is constantly changing. This cannot be solved with thought alone."**

"Acceptable." Jeddah stated.

**"The thought that I would need your approval sickens me, sl-"**

Tali 'drew' her omni-blade and took a step forward. "Call Jeddah 'slave' _one more time_ and your entrails become varren food, bosh'tet!"

"Now just calm-"

"Crea-"

**"Do not-"**

"All of you-"

Shepard drew in biotic power and let it pulse outward. It wasn't much - a slight push - but it affected everyone in the room. And it shut them all up.

"Harbinger." She said firmly. "You will give my crew respect. That means everyone currently aboard except you, including Jeddah. Clear?"

She felt the resentment bubbling just beneath the surface even before he spoke. **"Understood."**

"And Tali." She said, more softly. "We don't threaten assets, all right?"

"Hmph." Tali spun away the blade and subsided into glaring silence.

"Okay." Shepard said calmly, looking around. "Harbinger, get to work on finding that relay. I hope you work well under stress, because the longer you take, the more annoying I make your life. Everyone else, dismissed."

* * *

"Everything go well, Commander?" Traynor asked when they all left. Renar took up a position across from her, working steadily on the consoles.

"As well as can be expected." Shepard replied wearily. "Any planets blow up while I was in there?"

"No, Commander, you're usually in the field when that happens." Traynor said cheerfully.

Shepard mock-frowned. "Specialist Traynor, I nuked one…okay, two…then there was the relay…but then…all right, if you- Ugh, you have a point."

"Safety regulations do tend to fail around you, Commander." Traynor noted.

"Of course." Shepard said casually. "I'm the one they send when safety regs fail."

"Catastrophically, at that." Traynor paused in her work, then looked up, puzzled. "And yet the Normandy only seems to endure most of its problems when you aren't aboard."

"The Collectors did destroy it and me once." Shepard pointed out. "Can't claim responsibility for their boarding party, though."

Joker's voice came over the comm system in their vicinity immediately. "Still not my fault!"

"Don't worry, Joker." Shepard assured him. "You and EDI get points for spacing them."

"Right, right. Let me add that to my cosmic pilot scoreboard, and after the minus two million for losing the ship…"

"As well as the minefield incident." EDI interrupted.

"You're never gonna let me forget that, are you?" Joker asked.

"No." EDI said simply.

"Don't forget punching a hole through Sovereign." Shepard said.

"Ah, that doesn't count, I had help for that one."

"You're never going to actually get any points if you examine them that deeply." Shepard told him.

"…Blowing up a Reaper, check…" Joker said after a brief pause.

Shepard glanced over at the secondary comm station and decided that she may as well start implementing her crew policies regarding new arrivals. That, and she was genuinely curious.

"Anything you need, Commander?" Renar asked, seeing her coming.

"Just checking in." Shepard said. "Acclimatizing well enough?"

Renar nodded, taking a moment to look around the CIC. "It's not that different from the _Victorious_, really, schematics and all. I remember hearing that the Normandy was a turian-human amalgam design, but to see it in person…It's impressive, to say the least."

"If you think this is impressive, you should see the drive core." Shepard remarked. "How are the comm systems?"

"Connected so far, and that's the worst I can say about them." Renar brought up five holographic files to midair that she couldn't quite make out and deleted them. "Your AI makes the transitions and runtimes seamless. Not to mention your crew; Specialist Traynor's already taught me more than a few things about management."

"Our work tends to be more than-" Shepard began, then stopped when she realized what he'd just said, then grimaced when she realized that she'd given it away. "You…didn't actually know that EDI was an AI before now, did you."

"Not entirely." Renar admitted. "Though I got suspicious when it started humming the first few bars of the theme song to 'The Primarch and the General' whenever I checked a security file."

"She does have a sense of humor." Shepard said, putting light emphasis on 'she'.

"Don't worry about her safety, Commander." Renar said. "After the Rannoch reclaimation, the Council relaxed its bans. The geth are one exception, and I've checked the ship's credentials. So is EDI."

Shepard nodded. "At least I don't have to worry."

"Well, there may still be some prejudice among individuals, so I wouldn't put it on the extranet."

She spoke soon after, to break the silence that followed. "What does Traynor have you doing?"

"Checking for signals, intercepting encoded messages from hostile crews, checking the mail…mostly the same, really." Renar deleted another few files and then looked one over critically. "You know, you've been listed as K.I.A. for five years, but they're still sending you advertisements. Most of which I don't think are anatomically possible, just from the titles."

"Won't stop them from trying." Shepard sighed. "But with the two of you, I doubt any of them will cause trouble."

Renar nodded, then was quiet for a time. He kept his eyes on his work as he spoke. "I used to wonder about Admiral Vakarian's crew policies. Now, though, I'm starting to see where he got it."

"Oh?" Shepard asked.

Renar nodded. "The first day the _Victorious_ was commissioned for active duty, he came to the main decks and spoke to each crew member personally. Got to know them. After the Cabals it was…a culture shock, to say the least."

"They're more strict than the mainstream military, I take it?"

"That's…a mild way of putting it." Renar said cautiously. "Then again, you need more discipline than usual when a team is composed of biotic loose guns."

"I'm having trouble picturing you as a loose gun."

Renar shrugged. "Believe it or not, I suppose. Their methods of 'inspiration' are…frightfully effective."

Shepard's expression grew concerned. "You want to talk about it?"

"Not…" Renar hesitated. "It's hard to explain. We were exposed much more readily than normal soldiers to the worst of war. Spectres are essentially black ops, you probably know what I'm talking about. After the war ended, there were still messes that needed to be taken care of. Reaper forces, Cerberus, opportunists; the hierarchy didn't exactly discriminate, even as weakened as we were.

"Most of the Cabals were lost in the initial strikes, so my team was regarded as more valuable than usual. Less chance of suicide missions than other operatives. Even so, we had to be the best to take the best. Nothing hones your skills like the heat of battle, I guess.

"Our leader, Corbis, had our fringes in an iron grip. It was hell at the time, but looking back on the records, we only lost two men in all of our engagements. Wish I had his presence of mind."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"I've made some mistakes before." He kept his eyes firmly on his work, but she noticed that his talons weren't actually moving. "It's part of the reason I ended up on the _Victorious_."

"What happened?" What had started out as a routine conversation was now beginning to draw some interest for her.

"It's not something I like talking about. He made a decision, and people paid for it. But because they weren't us, the hierarchy called it a success. And when I called him out..." He left the words hanging. He didn't need to finish.

"Can someone even be discharged from a cabal?"

"It's complicated. Usually they'll take your amp and give you normal service until your enlistment dates pass and then drop you on a colony. I was lucky; 'someone' convinced them that a frontline vessel like the _Victorious _needed unhampered assets for an impromptu boarding party." He sounded oddly bitter.

"You don't think they should have?"

"Don't mistake me, Commander, I'm glad for the exception itself. Biotics are a part of someone, like an eye or a limb. Cutting it off is worse than either. But I also hate the means. I wish that I had a chance to face my own choices rather than have the consequences just...vanish." His eyes stared off into space somewhat. "I love and appreciate my father and what he does, but stigmas and reductions just don't appeal to me."

"You feel like you should own up to a punishment if it's justified." Shepard summarized, shaking her head. "If it means anything, Renar, the cabals lost a credit to the turian military."

"It...does, Commander. Thank you."

"Do you still think Corbis was wrong for his decision?" Shepard asked.

Renar shook his head slowly. "Selfish as it feels to say it, I'm glad to be alive, at least. It's just…I might feel better if he had at least tried. But you can't save everyone. The war taught us that the hard way. I suppose I just hadn't learned."

Shepard felt a low, haunting feeling in the back of her mind when he said that. She remembered saying something very similar to Anderson once. In retrospect, those weren't the real reasons she even fought, those last few weeks. She might have liked to think that she was fighting for every unnecessary death, so that countless others could live, but that wasn't it. Not really.

Her motives were, in the main, altruistic, certainly. But her true motivation in the end was spite. She would not allow the Reapers to win, and damn the consequences. In the end, that was what she needed to win. But it sickened her to think that she'd fallen so far.

That thought in mind, her need for conversation slackened significantly. "I'll let you get back to work."

Renar nodded politely. "Commander."

She thought grimly that she may as well make sure her gear was like she remembered. If not, target practice couldn't hurt, and she was curious as to what advances had been made as yet.

She had completely forgotten, in fact, that there was already someone in there.

"Commander Shepard." Corporal Vaya greeted her, rifle in one hand and saluting with the other.

"Corporal Vaya." Shepard replied, returning the gesture. "I didn't realize this was your station."

"It isn't." Vaya said simply. "But until I have a permanent assignment, I thought someone should be here. The new weapons expert should, but I think he might still be drooling over the Thanix."

"I don't have any problems with it." Shepard said. "But let me know if you notice anything unusual."

"Of course, Commander." Vaya returned to her work, which apparently consisted of examining the weaponry.

Shepard took a Phalanx and noticed that there appeared to be a detachable clip in the handle. "Actually, maybe you can help me, here. What's changed about guns since I've been out?"

"Well there are the magnetic additions, for one." Vaya explained. "In addition to the heat sinks and eezo method of firing, most modern weapons have a backup. You can unhook and restock a magazine of shells. Hard in flight, brittle on impact, and simple to fire. They don't hit as hard, but it helps if you run out of clips in a firefight. The sighting VI's automatically swap types when they detect that you're going to overheat."

"Handy." Shepard indicated the magnetic slide. "So this is like gauss weaponry?"

"In a sense, but it's also easier to disable than the main firing system." Vaya said. "It's also why armor is more hard-packed now. The magnetic shells are a lot slower than your usual biotic cluster fire."

"You mean the main system doesn't use electromagnetics anymore?" Shepard asked.

Vaya shook her head. "It's more like a miniature biotic impact wave. A piece of metal locks into the chamber and a small eezo core causes a contained chain reaction. They make purely biotic barriers less effective, too. Like a warp with every shot."

"You still use thermal clips, though?" Shepard asked.

"More or less." Vaya said noncommittally. "They're less for the purposes of containing heat emissions - the buildup is contained and then released when you reload - and more a recharge unit for the element zero core inside. The setup is generally more powerful than older technology, but you also typically have fewer shots to use."

"Ammunition enhancements?" Shepard asked casually, taking aim at a target.

"Those can't be used with the magnetic backups. But otherwise, essentially the same."

The sound of three sequential gunshots resounded inside the room, echoes bouncing around inside the ears of the two for six long seconds.

"Nice." Shepard commented, setting the pistol back down. "At least they aren't more complicated than aim and fire."

Shepard ran her hands over the armaments a few times, getting a feel for their inner workings. Eventually, she lifted her gaze again. "So, tell me about yourself, Corporal."

"That's a long list, Commander." Vaya glanced over. "Is this an official request?"

"Does it have to be?" Shepard asked.

Vaya shrugged. "For some things, yes. At the least, I can paint you a picture of what it is I do. I am a scout, first and foremost. Happiest when the enemy doesn't see me. When that fails, my technological experience, marksmanship, and martial arts training do not."

"I've been wondering about that, actually. Are there any turians who aren't snipers?"

"Yes." Vaya said seriously. "They're called politicians."

They shared laughter, Vaya's voice being more subdued than most, as though even here she felt she couldn't afford to not be quiet.

"Truthfully, it suits us better than most." Vaya admitted. "Gives the enhanced eyesight better things to work on."

"Enhanced eyesight, really?" Shepard asked, intrigued.

"We evolved from avians, Commander." Vaya reminded her. "Good eyes are invaluable on the wing or on the scope."

"True." Shepard conceded. "I'll have to s-"

"Commander!"

_Damn it, why is he always calling me over the comm in panicked tones? _"What is it, Joker?"

"Distress call from Tuchanka, pretty sure it's for you."

"Patch it through to the FTL link room, I'll see it there." Shepard nodded to Vaya as she left. "We'll talk later."

"Commander." Vaya said simply as the door closed.

* * *

Shepard wasn't expecting a situation so soon. Nor was she expecting to be speaking to a krogan when she reached the link room.

As far as Shepard could tell (she _really_ needed to learn more about different species' gender characteristics) the female warrior krogan, strange as it seemed, was under fire and trying to get the message out at the same time.

"Really hope this is getting somewhere!" She shouted over an explosion. "Because we're in deep shit!"

"This is Comman-" Shepard began, but was quickly cut off.

"If this stupid thing is transmitting properly, don't waste your breath, we can only get a one-way call, and Solus _made_ me send it into space." She looked behind her at allies just out of sight. "Get behind some cover, you stupid fucking pyjaks!"

A grenade sailed over her head, but she paid it little mind. She raised a pistol in one hand and blasted it at whoever was shooting at her without bothering to spare a glance at them. "I'm transmitting our coordinates, for all the good it'll do me. Whoever you are, get down here and blow these Reapers into deep space before we're bones, huh?"

Shepard was quiet for a long time after the message cut out.

"Joker." She said, fully aware of the irony in her choice of words. "Send Harbinger, Lokkan and Davisson to the shuttle. Then take us in, fast and quiet."

"This mission just got a lot more complicated."


	15. Chapter 15: Murphy's Law

_"Thanks for the understatement, chief."_

"Okay, Commander, just one question." Davisson asked over the noise of the shuttle thrusters. He pointed his rifle at Harbinger. "Why is he here?"

"Two reasons." Shepard explained. "First, I want to keep an eye on him personally. Second, if we're going up against Reaper forces, I want someone with intimate knowledge of how to put them down."

"Long as I get ta blow something's head off!" Lokkan growled cheerfully.

**"There will be blood, Shepard, and you are still weakened." **Harbinger said, voice booming as always, even with background noise.

"No shit, Sherlock." Davisson commented. "Here I thought we were going to have a picnic."

**"Are you prepared for what you will face?" **Harbinger continued, ignoring the marine.

"Is that concern I hear, Harbinger?" Shepard asked wryly.

**"My survival is not guaranteed if you should fall."** He hastily amended.

"Riiiiight." Davisson strapped his helmet on. "You sound like a krogan with a crush after someone kicked their ass. Might want to keep an eye on that."

**"Silence. Your prattle is an annoyance at best."**

"Ah, bite me. Oh wait! Your genius reconfiguration of the entirety of the prothean organic structure means you don't HAVE a mouth! Asshole."

"Both of you lock it down." Shepard said wearily. "We're at five minutes ETA, and I need to think of something…_quietly_. EDI, have those surface scans picked up anything?"

The familiar blue orb appeared over Shepard's omni-tool instantly. "Affirmative. The entrance appears to be guarded by seven bipedal organisms. They show signs of Reaper tampering. Based on size, my assumption is six Cannibals and one Marauder."

"Walk in the park." Shepard nodded. "We can skip the training wheels. Harbinger, I already know what you can do. Colonel, Engineer, sound off. Capabilities, keep it short."

"Cloaking system, quantum entanglement device, anti-synthetic rounds, hard-compact single-shell sniper round." Davisson listed off.

"Turn off guns, turn off 'bots, blow things tae bits and EMP firing dampener." Lokkan slid his omni-tool along the side of his shotgun. A small blue image of a sparking bullet appeared next to his thermal clip slot.

"Davisson, go over that again." Shepard said. "Quantum entanglement?"

Davisson hesitated slightly, like it wasn't his favorite subject. "Yes, I can technically teleport, and yes, it has limits. It's really more like an instantaneous biotic charge, if you don't mind nausea."

"What kind of limits?" Shepard pressed.

"It relies on a three-dimensional image of the location I'm going to. If I can see the place, my HUD does it automatically, but otherwise I have to have already been there to place a marker, which kind of defeats the purpose." He explained. "There are range factors, too. Fifty meters is pushing it, and more than one hundred and twenty five will probably kill me."

"Th' fuck did ya get tha'?" Lokkan asked.

"It's experimental. My design. The Alliance basically told me that at least if it screws up it's my ass, not a valuable soldier." Shepard could practically see his grimace.

"We go in hard and fast." Shepard said, easing him off the moment. "I'll draw in a cluster of cannibals, then detonate. Lokkan, overload the Marauder's shields. Davisson, 'teleport' next to it and stab it. Preferably between the eyes."

"Will do, Commander."

"Harbinger, you're on cleanup duty. If any Ca-…technologically-altered-batarians survive my biotics, bring them down."

**"They will burn, Shepard."**

The shuttle bounced in midair as weapons fire from the ground below hit the shields. None of their armaments could so much as pierce the hull, but the turbulence threw them off-balance.

"On the ground in fifteen!" Shepard shouted, putting on her helmet. The processors connected to the rest of her new armor and her omni-tool, woefully out of date as it was. _First thing when we get back,_ She thought ruefully. _Get new tech._ The edges of her vision flashed white in confirmation that everything was working. Harbinger's, Davisson's, and Lokkan's faces appeared in white circles at the bottom. The scanners read their shields at maximum.

Tiny red blips representing her trauma status filled out just above them, and the purple bar that was her barrier curtain expanded to full length above it. She noticed that light blue lines were enrapturing the barrier representation, and she realized that those were her armor's shields. _I can use both of them without a short circuit?_ She thought. _Nice._

She drew her pistol, and four small lines converged in the center of her HUD. The targeting reticule. All systems green. She was ready to go.

"Comms check." She said, deactivating her external vocal emitters. Only the other members of the squad and anyone with a connection over the links could hear her now.

"Check." Davisson said.

"Check." Lokkan replied.

Harbinger was a problem, as both Shepard and EDI had noticed. They had considered simply equipping him with a two-way communications headset, but he would have to keep quiet during infiltrations due to his voice being external…and loud. They could fix that problem later. For now, the Reaper had a rather primitive one-way headset. They could hear him normally through the auditory filtering systems of the suits, anyway.

It wasn't as though he needed armor.

Fifteen seconds passed like an eternity, waiting for the shuttle to get close enough to land. Eventually, Shepard's omni-tool bleeped, and she nodded. "Lokkan." She said. "Kick the door."

The turian slammed a fist into the panel, and with a hiss of atmosphere, the desert of Tuchanka opened up before them. The lab looked like an average building, if an isolated one. A small flight of stairs led up to a double-door. The whole place looked fairly clean and well-kept.

The seven Reaper drones shooting at them kind of ruined the view, though.

Lokkan leaned his arm out of cover and deployed a short-circuit device at the Marauder. The creature stumbled backwards as its shields failed, directly on top of Davisson's omni-blade. Two clean swipes later, and it was dead before it hit the ground.

During the time it took for it to fall, Shepard threw a swirling ball of biotic energy into a cluster of Cannibals, and they lost grip on the ground. Four of them flew in a dizzying circle in midair, only stopping when a follow-up blast detonated the field, blasting pieces off of the foes and throwing them mercilessly into the dirt.

Two remained. One of them exploded in short order, courtesy of Lokkan's well timed cluster blast. Shepard could recall Wrex and Vega having used that effect before. If she remembered right, it was essentially taking the spread of a normal shotgun, forming it into one projectile, and then making it explosive. Damned if it didn't work.

The last Cannibal managed to fire one shot - one single shot - at Shepard before Harbinger threw a projectile at it. It looked like a fizzling orb of energy, and it produced a massive explosion that tore the Cannibal limb from limb. Then it set the remains on fire.

As for Shepard, the infinitesimal piece of her shields that had been shaved off regenerated immediately.

"Dammi'!" Lokkan growled. "I thought this was going ta be a figh', nae shootin' tha wings off some faeries!"

Shepard briefly wondered how a turian weapons engineer knew about faeries. "Great, thanks." Davisson said, drawing his…what was that? It wasn't any weapon she recognized. It looked vaguely like a shotgun and yet…not. Too advanced. "Now Murphy's gonna start shoving grenades up our asses." He continued.

"Better ya burn steel than waste a razor." Lokkan countered.

"Aren't those essentially the same outcome? And what the hell does that even _mean_?"

Shepard, for her part, was already adding another few mental entries to her personal list of who not to put on teams together. Then she remembered that argument was supposed to be endearing or something.

**"How often does this occur?" **Harbinger asked her.

"You have no idea." She muttered.

**"Correct. That is why I inquired."**

"Why don't you go salvage a weapons system or something." She waved him off and approached the others.

"Well why couldn't you have said something like 'better you prepare for an avalanche and get one than waste the time'? Or something that, y'know, _made sense_?" Davisson was saying.

"Th' fuck is your fascination with this 'bad luck' nonsense?" Lokkan was apparently hitting his stride. "This is comin' from a turian, remember. The ones who worship bloody invisible energy auras? An' you sound barking mad!"

"Do I look dead? No? Then obviously it's working!"

"You might not be dead yet, Colonel, but unless the two of you focus we might be getting there." Shepard's voice was tinged with her small scowl. They were wasting too much time already.

They paused, looking at her.

"Er, yes ma'am." Davisson at least had the good sense to sound apologetic. Lokkan just nodded silently.

"Good." She thumbed behind her. "You take the rear guard. It'll give you distance and prevent surprises. Lokkan, take point. Harbinger, with me."

She honestly wanted to say something inspirationally catchy, but she couldn't really find it in her. She gave a mental shrug. Plenty of time in the day.

* * *

The main door to the lab opened smoothly and silently. The interior of the entry room was white and empty. In Shepard's opinion it was a little too clean. Almost unnatural. The door closed behind them, and a cheerful feminine voice greeted them over the hissing of various regulator systems.

"Balancing exterior conditions with interior atmosphere." It chimed happily. "Notification: The environment will be sterile in ten point three seconds."

"Doc likes his cleaners, huh?" Davisson commented.

Shepard nodded silent assent. Then again, it made sense. Any outside contaminants could screw patients and data on a normal planet, never mind a still-recovering deathtrap like Tuchanka.

**"Blood." **Harbinger said simply. Shepard was about to ask what he meant when the second door opened. The lobby, if that's what it could be called, was filled with mangled corpses. Most of them were krogan, but she noticed that some of the assaulting forces had fallen as well. With a grim sort of realization she saw pools of blood out of place, like the bodies had been dragged away. She could guess fairly accurately for what purpose.

"How'd you see tha' before th' doors opened?" Lokkan asked.

**"This form's systems recognized an anomaly. Assassins are built to notice the smallest of details even when not under control."**

"His meat puppet could smell it." Davisson translated.

"That's a Collector Assassin?" Shepard asked. In response, Harbinger raised a barrier and hefted the particle beam he'd lifted from the Marauder outside. She definitely recognized it now. Something that annoying to fight was hard to forget. And he was likely to have more tricks up his sleeve than even a normal tool.

"Righ'." Lokkan's weapon swiveled as he examined the room. "'Cept for th' chills up my spine, looks clear."

Davisson muttered something Shepard couldn't make out that sounded like a mention of 'jumping', 'argument', and 'creepy night space monsters'. She let him have his moment and motioned them forward.

"EDI." She said while they moved. "Are we close enough to contact Dr. Solus?"

There was no response.

"EDI." Shepard said urgently. "Normandy, respond."

Nothing.

"We're being blocked, people." She told the squad. "Keep on your toes."

Based on the surface scans, Shepard estimated that the lab itself couldn't have more than a half dozen rooms the size of the lobby. It struck her as odd that Kerrin would want such a small space to work with. Unless there were more levels beneath them.

She dismissed the thought until she saw the stairs.

"My kingdom for creepy overrun installations without stairs." Davisson announced.

"Everyone down." Shepard ordered. "We sho-"

"Warning." The VI announced happily. "Containment wing E has been breached. Please initiate security countermeasures. Warning: Security countermeasures are offline."

"Containment wing?" Lokkan asked incredulously.

"This can be anything aside from good." Shepard shook her head." Down, people, get a move on."

Their passage was brief and silent, leading several flights straight down until they hit an open hallway. Rooms covered by clear glass walls and doors lined it. They looked like dorm rooms built for observation. Beds, footlockers, and personal belongings were in different places with every one they passed. Several of the rooms contained copious amounts of blood and mutilated corpses. The ground in front of each was marked. Shepard saw phrases such as 'T-004' and 'A-007'. One in particular, 'Y-002', looked as though it had been the location of a pitched battle. The footlocker was tipped over, the bed in pieces.

"Were they prisoners?" Lokkan asked.

"No…" Shepard pointed to a closed door. "The doors are unlocked. They were volunteers. Maybe with medical conditions. And now they're dead."

"Right, mystery number one…" Lokkan motioned to room Y-002. "Why are th' Reapers taking some of 'em alive? Why not all?"

**"Some are unfit. Incompatible for ascension." **Harbinger answered with distaste.

"I don't know any sentient species with names like 'Y'," Shepard said. "Aside from Yahg, and that wouldn't make any sense. What-"

"They aren't marked by race." Davisson's voice alone sent chills down Shepard's spine. He sounded utterly terrified.

**"The Storm approaches." **Harbinger uttered quietly.

"What are you two talking about?" She asked.

Suddenly, the marine had his sniper rifle trained down the hallway opposite where they had come down. His entire body was shaking. "They're marked by condition."

Suddenly, it clicked. Not Yahg. Yakshi. Ardat-Yakshi. But that would mean…

A sound from behind her stopped her thoughts cold and froze her blood. The sound of a scream. A scream all too familiar.

"Ah, fuuuuuck." Lokkan summed up the situation admirably. Another scream tore through the underground area, echoing off the tight quarters. It was getting closer.

"We run, right?" Davisson's voice was a near whisper, almost pleading. "Please tell me we run."

"Screw THAT." Shepard glowed blue, pistol armed and ready. She had been finished running a long time ago. "Front and center. Shoot to kill. Take cover in the rooms, all of you."

At that moment, a gray figure turned the corner in front of them. It was tall, vaguely asari-shaped, with tubes and cybernetics running every which way on and under its skin. Hands had turned into wicked claws. The Banshee screamed again as it floated towards them, its hands already forming the motions for whatever biotics it had in mind.

Shepard was slightly faster.

A biotic force like a wrecking ball slammed into the creature at full force. It staggered backward, opening itself for a blast from Lokkan's weapon. A tracer shot by its head an instant after Davisson's weapon let out a sharp report. Shepard internalized quite the impressive set of curses. The sniper had missed. Perfect.

Harbinger raised an arm, and the lines across the body of his collector host flickered like a malfunctioning light.

**"Assuming control."**

Shepard's pistol involuntarily twitched towards him. That phrase evoked too many old wounds. But he couldn't just possess any reaper creation…could he?

The Banshee bent forward, tubing and lights flaring from blue to bright flaming orange. It paused, briefly, its limbs twisting and twitching as though it were making sure that it could move them all.

"You're shitting me." Davisson said numbly.

"How…?" Shepard asked.

**"It is a matter of will." **Both the Banshee and the Collector moved in unison as the voice echoed around them. **"These new forms have none. Whoever created them knows little of the ascension process."**

"Cerberus." Shepard's fears had been confirmed.

"Well now that we've established tha' th' team pet evolves tae be creepier by tha minute…" Lokkan sounded a little too calm.

"We're on a tight schedule, Harbinger. How many can you possess like that?" Shepard motioned unnecessarily to the Banshee.

**"One is enough of a strain."**

"What happened to being almighty?" Shepard snarked before she could stop herself.

Both bodies bristled in indignation. **"My powers are beyond you. The forces that I bring to bear-"**

"All right, all right." Shepard waved him off. "Don't get 'incomprehensible' on me. Just move the puppet ahead. At least it'll take most of the fire."

They moved forward again, passing more observation areas, more often than not stained with what was left of their previous occupants. It dawned on Shepard suddenly just how large this complex was, how many people had been here. How many hopefuls had died. Her grip on the Phalanx had turned her knuckles white. Minutes passed in silence. Once, hostile fire had torn through a closed door, but the possessed Banshee teleported inside and dealt with the Marauders immediately. Shepard was beginning to doubt that they would ever find Kerrin.

Naturally, not sixty seconds after she had the thought, they found him. More accurately, they found his aggressors. No less than two Banshees and five Marauders were placing suppressive fire on three survivors. One of them tried to pop up and return fire, but a rough female voice that Shepard recognized as the krogan from the message forced him back down.

"Try standing and I feed you your quad, Drak!"

Their Banshee (who Shepard had begun subconsciously referring to as 'Sean', for reasons even she wasn't entirely sure of) accelerated forward and removed the head of a hostile one of its kind. The second enemy Banshee turned, screaming. The two of them began teleporting around the room and throwing biotics, fighting to a standstill.

Three Marauders lost their shields to Lokkan, and Shepard wasted no time in putting them all in a singularity. The other two were soon reduced to one. Davisson had his aim back, and one of them fell, a hole the size of a fist drilled through its skull. Immediately thereafter, the sniper himself appeared over it, omni-blade plunging deep into the brain of the second.

A projectile from Harbinger, which apparently held the same biotic frequency as a warp, ended their side of the fight with an explosion. Lokkan loosed a hard-packed projectile at the enemy Banshee as it came out of another teleportation. It connected, and the creature staggered, if barely. That was all the opening Harbinger needed, and orange claws went through another head.

There was quiet, and then a deadpan remark from behind cover. "Doctor, you better treat me for hallucinations."

"Clear." Shepard said.

Kerrin rose, omni-tool still alight. His face broke into relief. "Commander. I was worried you hadn't received our message."

"I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner." She told him. "Your patients…"

"They're gone, then?" Kerrin looked away and closed his eyes. "I thought as much, but…"

To Shepard's surprise, the female krogan rose, sliding away her weapon, and put a hand on the salarian's shoulder. Her tone was among the most reverently assuring and soft that Shepard had heard from anyone, much less a krogan. "It wasn't your fault, Doctor. We'll get these bastards."

He nodded in return. "Thank you, Deshayla."

"Wait. Who?" Davisson stepped forward, rifle over one shoulder. "Heeeeeey. Didn't I drink you under the table once?"

The other krogan looked like he was about to speak, but Deshayla pointed at him. "One word and your ass is mine." He wisely shut up. "You do sound annoyingly familiar." She studied Davisson carefully. She sounded slightly cautious and even…sultry? "As I recall, I owe you a kick in the quad."

"Well, I'm a couple balls short."

"I can make do."

"Ahh…I'm guessing you two know each other?" Shepard asked awkwardly.

"Nope." Davisson said.

Deshayla shook her head. "Not in the slightest."

Shepard sighed. Davisson chuckled and elaborated. "We met briefly when the team was trying to get you back on your feet. Took a little killer batarian mix and additives, but she was real helpful. And now has a crush on me." He added playfully.

"Hey." Deshayla warned. "I am a battlemedic and warrior of clan Urdnot. The only things I crush are skulls."

"Uh-huh."

"'Killer batarian mix'...and additives?" Kerrin eyed her suspiciously. "Is that why you nearly killed both of your livers?"

"Hey, he asked for it." She sounded like a child being scolded.

Honestly, Shepard was glad that everything hadn't gone completely to hell for once. Oh no, certainly not. First, Dr. Solus opened his mouth to say something. THEN everything went completely to hell.

He pointed back down the entrance hallway. "Take cover!" Then he dove. So did Deshayla. And Davisson. And Lokkan. And Harbinger. Shepard's reflexes, finely honed by years of combat, told her to stupidly turn around. Something like a battering ram the size of a skyscraper smashed into her stomach, sending her flying back into a wall. All of her advantages had to work overtime just to keep her alive. Her shields barely worked against blunt force, but her barrier deflected some of the damage. Her augmentations prevented internal trauma to a dire degree, and not all of her bones broke immediately.

It still hurt.

She vaguely heard Davisson screaming over the radio. "Shit! Thunderbeast! Move your asses!"

Somewhere between the pain and confusion, Shepard had time to wonder what the hell a Thunderbeast was.

Shepard raised her head to look at what hit her. A mass effect field shimmered around it, partially obscuring its numerous technological enhancements. It looked drained of life and vitality, and had a mask over its mouth area. It was huge, quadripedal, and looked horrifyingly like a husked elcor.

She didn't know much about the new time period, but if she had to guess, she would say that it was a Thunderbeast. Sure enough, her omni-tool alerted her to a new Codex entry. Not that she had time to look at it now.

She raised her pistol and fired. Two shots bounced off of its biotic field without leaving a scratch, but she had its undivided attention. Great. She dove to the right, launching a destabilizing field at it. She saw the barrier flicker, but not much else. She barely even saw it twitch and it wasn't there anymore. It had careened into the wall where she just was, forming the blue wavelength of a biotic charge behind it.

Sean screamed and then gurgled helplessly as the creature jumped again and splattered the innards of the Banshee across another wall. Deshayla, the krogan, Davisson and Lokkan all scattered, putting down sustained fire in the hope of disrupting its barrier. Nothing they did seemed to have any effect. Shepard heard someone shouting random expletives, but adrenaline hit her in full force and the world slowed down.

All sounds aside from her breathing and heartbeat were cut off, even the sounds of her biotics muted. It quickly became a fight of endurance and reflex as she rolled and jumped from side to side, avoiding the charging husk and throwing fields directly at it. After three times of the warps connecting, she misjudged the distance. It was bound to happen, but she wished she had prepared for it.

Rather than full contact, which would have completely broken her, the husk clipped her shoulder, which sent her spinning. She felt a leg on her back, pinning her down, and saw another rising through the air to smash through her skull out of the corner of her vision. Unfortunately for it, she was not a wet-behind-the-ears soldier, ready to give up at the first sign of defeat. On the contrary, it had no idea who it was dealing with.

She concentrated, drawing in not only the eezo she was producing, but that of the husk as well. She drew in power from its own barrier and spread her arms out, feeling the pulse rise from inside her and out. The pressure lifted off of her back and it slammed into a wall. She put her weight on her hands and flipped forward, landing on her feet. Her heel turned, she gathered momentum, and she slammed into the beast, using its own trick to push against it with bone-shattering force.

What made it even more devastating were the large crates she'd lifted into the air an instant previously. Now, she put one foot in front of the other and backflipped off its face. She pushed the crates forward with both hands, propelling them with as much force as she could muster. They ricocheted off of its barrier, but it was weakening. Shepard threw another warp, and its shield failed completely. It tried to saunter forward, but her foot struck the ground resolutely. A shockwave flew into all four of its legs, snapping them like twigs.

She stepped forward, brought up her pistol, and shot it in the head until she had no more rounds left over. Nineteen seconds after it hit her from behind, the Thunderbeast was dead.

"Everyone alright?" She asked, panting. "Sound off."

"I'm bruised by debris, but fine." Kerrin said.

"I'll live." Deshayla growled. The other krogan merely nodded.

Lokkan pushed a piece of wall off his legs. "I need a bloody drink."

Davisson's exclamation was more straightforward. He pointed at the Thunderbeast and shouted: "Holy shit!"

"Well well well." Lokkan snickered. "Looks like killin' something's enough ta shut him up. I'll remember tha'."

Something was still wrong, though. Shepard looked around for nigh on a minute before she realized what it was.

"Harbinger?"

No response. The Reaper was gone.


	16. Chapter 16: Lost

_"You are created to serve."_

Shepard looked around desperately for any sign of telltale lava-like veins or glowing eyes. Even the booming voice boasting of its own superiority would have been a comfort. But everywhere she looked was only rubble and ash. Her heart fell. That was it, then. At least he had the decency to warn them first, but now stopping the next cycle was up to them, and them alone.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that it wasn't until Drak tackled her that she realized someone was shooting at them. She rolled up to a standing position and took aim. There, at the back of the entrance hall, was the last thing she wanted to see: Cerberus. A fairly large portion of her shields filled back up, after having apparently sustained a shot from a sniper's weapon.

The others opened fire and her assailant died within moments, but more troops filled in the gap. It may have been an adrenal hallucination, but Shepard's heart stopped beating for just a moment when she thought she saw a glowing insectoid biped behind them. A singularity appeared behind two of the frontliners - what were they called? Defenders? - drawing them up for a clearer view.

"Those cowards are retreating!" Deshayla shouted, tossing some kind of canister into the crowd from her omni-tool. It exploded into a green mist, but they seemed unaffected. One of them stepped forward, biotic aura flaring blue, and tried to toss something at them. But no sooner had his arm extended than the light faded. He looked down at it in shock, clearly not comprehending what was going on. The Urdnot Medic grinned wolfishly at him and blew his head off with her hand cannon.

Shepard noticed that of all of them, Deshayla's weapon seemed to do the most damage. The rounds she fired into their enemies expanded on impact opened holes the size of Shepard's fist. Most of them had less than a few seconds to scream before they simply bled out. She'd forgotten how simply expedient it was to fight alongside a krogan, if you could get over the gore.

And sure enough, the Cerberus forces were retreating out the front. Shepard took a moment to make sure none of them were in critical condition before ordering a pursuit. They nearly tripped over the white-clad bodies on the way out, and arrived just in time to see a bad situation turn much worse.

The door to the wastes of Tuchanka was open, almost as though it were waiting for them. In the middle of the fallen Reaper victims, a Cerberus dropship was hovering a meter off the ground. Two officers and a Collector climbed inside before their eyes. Shepard's mind reeled. Were they taking Harbinger prisoner?

**"Shepard." **Even over the roar of engines and from ten meters away, she could hear that voice as though it was right next to her. But it did not sound concerned. If anything, he sounded vengeful. **"You will-"**

The door on the dropship shut before he could finish. Shepard thought blandly that someone would probably die for interrupting his monologue.

Then she growled and kicked a dent in the building.

* * *

Outside the lab, their communications were as good as ever. They called Cortez in for an evac and asked the Normandy to find Harbinger's vessel, but as for the latter, it seemed to have activated some sort of cloaking field immediately after leaving the system.

Shepard didn't speak when she came aboard, even though she was immediately bombarded with questions. They'd lost their greatest asset against the Reapers and more than a dozen innocent lives. To say she was displeased would be a massive understatement.

It wasn't until she reached the Med Bay that she actually had time to sit down and think. She barely even realized where she was; she'd simply followed Kerrin and Deshayla down the elevator. They had enough sense not to question her, thankfully, though she caught the krogan giving her awed looks when her head was turned. _Oh, right._ Shepard thought dully. _I'm a folk hero to a whole species._

She'd spent a solid five minutes staring at her helmet's visor before she actually heard Dr. Chakwas.

"-Ander." She was saying.

Shepard gave a start. "Sorry, what?"

"I said, you should lay down and let me fix that arm, Commander." Chakwas repeated patiently.

Shepard frowned and looked down at it. It had been throbbing slightly since she fought the mutated elcor, but other than…ah. She was fairly certain arms were not supposed to bend that way. She grunted as the pain began in earnest. At least now it legitimately felt like her arm was on fire. She'd had worse, but pain was pain.

She lay down on a medical cot and waited patiently. She felt the soothing feeling of medi-gel being applied to her various wounds and the two doctors discussing something. Shepard didn't care too much about it. She was brooding, damn it, and that took precedence.

A tap on her shoulder brought her back to the real world. "We've done what we can, which is quite a bit." Kerrin informed her. "But you will need some time for your bones to fully heal. I must say, considering your modifications this damage is quite an achievement."

Chakwas frowned at him for his bedside manner, but Shepard found it oddly comforting. Maybe it was a sign that the krogan way was rubbing off on her. Scary thought. Then she realized what he'd just said.

"No." She said bluntly.

"Shepard, you need-" Chakwas began.

"No." She repeated. "I'm not going to accept being taken off ground team rotation for a broken arm."

"Broken is putting it lightly." Kerrin corrected her dryly. To Chakwas' immediate discomfort, he started listing off her injuries like he was making a grocery list. "And don't forget the shattered and/or broken ribs, the cracked pelvis, the internal bleeding, the skull fracture, the-"

"The point is…" Chakwas said sharply, shutting him up. "Even you can't take that much punishment without a break."

"But they need me." Shepard was intensely aware of how childish that must have sounded, but she didn't care. "I have to be able and on the field."

At that moment, the door opened and Garrus stepped in, looking concerned. "Shepard." He said. "How bad is it?"

"It's nothing, Garrus." Shepard assured him. "But so-"

"Doctors." Garrus immediately turned to Chakwas and Kerrin. "How bad is it?"

"What the he-" Shepard began.

"It's not life-threatening, but we've decided the Commander should stay out of danger until she's healed." Chakwas told him.

"And she's being thick-headed again, hm?" Now that he knew she wasn't critical, his mood softened significantly.

"Damn it, not you too." Shepard groaned.

"Don't act like you don't need some rest." Garrus said. "Maybe you can spend your time with war vids or something. Speaking of, what exactly happened down there?"

She ran though the story in as much detail as she could muster. The five of them looked grim throughout the telling, but when she told them about Harbinger's escape, Garrus looked ready to strangle something.

"That little bastard." He muttered. "What does he think that'll get him?"

"He wants to live." Shepard explained. "I have to agree that Cerberus is his best shot at that."

"And now our plan to betray him seems awfully ironic." Garrus smiled grimly. "I wonder if he knew."

"He probably saw something like it coming, at least." Shepard admitted. "I get the feeling he trusted us about as much as we trusted him. He probably _could_ have found the planet sooner, he just needed leverage."

"Maybe he lied about that too."

Shepard shook her head. "I'm not willing to take that risk. EDI, contact Miranda and the Council. We're going to need more eyes out to find him."

"Understood." There was no flash of blue, but the AI had an auditory relay listening in, so marks of her presence weren't necessary to know that she was there.

"Doctors…" She gave them her best pleading look. "I might be disbarred from putting boots on the ground, but can I at least leave the med-bay if I'm contained to the ship?"

"Hmm." Chakwas appeared noncommittal. "Wait a few hours. If your condition improves, we'll see."

"I suppose that's the best I'll get." Shepard grumbled.

"There is something I would like to bring up, if you don't mind." Kerrin said.

"What is it?"

"You've already done quite a bit for us." Kerrin elaborated. "But would you be willing to allow us to stay aboard as well, in an assistant's capacity?"

Deshayla looked slightly uncomfortable, probably at the mention of being an assistant. Shepard raised a brow. "Sure, but…why? Don't you have important work?"

"It will be more of a struggle than usual." He admitted. "But I'd rather work slowly here than end up dead due to another attack. My luck has refused to hold out these past few days."

Shepard frowned as she realized something. It _had_ taken an abnormally small amount of time to get to Tuchanka. "It's only been a few days? Doesn't jumping systems usually take longer?"

Garrus shook his head. "Let's just say that engine systems have become…more advanced. Much more advanced."

"Really?" She deadpanned. "You're going to explain it away with 'we have the technology'?"

"Face it, Commander." Joker's voice came in through EDI's nearby terminal, though it sounded odd. "We're better, stronger, faster than ever before!"

"Was that another 20th century reference?" She asked.

"Yep."

"Ah, okay." Shepard didn't pursue that line any further; she'd grown long used to Joker's antics. At least, she had five years ago. Ah, and now she was entering depressing thoughts territory, perfect. "At any rate, you and Deshayla can stay as long as you like, Doctor. We could use an extra hand in the med bay and call me old-fashioned, but I like having a krogan on my side during a fight."

"It'll be an honor, Shepard." The krogan in question told her.

* * *

The wait after that was a long one, but the relative quiet gave Garrus time to think. He hated having time to think. It opened up several new levels of pain that should normally be buried under the tasks involved in his work. But now it was just waiting and watching. And thinking.

He tended to think about a lot of things, none of them exactly rays of sunshine. First on the list was, naturally, Shepard's reappearance. The pessimist in him started counting the likely amount of time before she got herself killed again. The rest of him told it to shut up. His logical side relented and noted that it was a possibility; they still had no idea how much damage Harbinger had done to her.

At least he and Archangel agreed on something now: Harbinger wasn't going to help them. They'd lost that line. And now the Reaper was free game.

"Garrus?"

He looked down and saw that Shepard was awake, looking at him curiously. He felt some heat creep to his fringe, purely because of proximity. "Sorry, what?" He asked.

She smirked. "That's what I was asking. You're just…staring into space."

"Thinking about Harbinger." He said reluctantly. "Do you think we have any chance with him gone?"

"Maybe. I do know that we'll have to find him one way or another. Dark space or no, he's the clearest threat we have to deal with." She frowned. "It's not the betrayal or the hunt, really. It's the waiting."

Garrus felt a pang and tried not to think of that comment as callous. _Like how five years feels like forever?_ "We'll find him, Shepard. One way or another."

"I know."

"Good news, Commander." Chakwas looked up from her medical files. "It looks like you're on the mend more swiftly than I thought. You can roam, if you'd like."

"Finally." Shepard muttered, standing up. She winced slightly as the pain came back, but it didn't look as bad as it could have been.

"Keep an eye on her, would you?" Chakwas asked Garrus, eyes peering over the data pad at him.

"Always." He nodded. Shepard, for her part, grumbled something about not needing a babysitter, but he still knew her well enough to recognize her gratitude, even if she didn't voice it. "Where first?"

"I need to have a conversation with a certain crew member." She said.

It was only a few dozen paces from the med bay, so Garrus recognized where they were going immediately. He decided against his will that this could be an interesting show.

The marine was checking over his rifle when the door opened, and apparently decided that rising to a salute would be the safest course of action if he didn't know who was coming. Or maybe it was just drilled into him. Probably the latter. "Commander, Admiral." He said. "Something I can do for you?"

"Just checking in." Shepard motioned for him to be at ease. He shrugged, sat back down, and continued his weaponry maintenance. "You seemed ill at ease groundside."

A part of Garrus' stomach spaced itself. Something had spooked _Davisson_? The Colonel in question winced almost unnoticeably, and it was a long awkward moment before he answered. "I've had...experience with Banshees before this mission. There really aren't any fond memories with those things."

Garrus suddenly empathized. Those were the stuff of nightmares. "And here I thought they ran out."

"Dr. Solus had volunteers in the lab." Shepard explained. "Various genetic defects, including Ardat-Yakshi. No survivors."

"Can't help but think now maybe I should've just given our best friend some lead when he took that thing over." Davisson said bitterly.

"I'm surprised you didn't." That tone…Garrus realized where Shepard was going with this, and thus knew what the reaction was going to be.

"You're talking about my file, right?" Davisson asked, like he was tasting something bitter. Shepard nodded; she looked curious. Davisson sighed and went on. "You know, those'll lie to you."

"Does yours?"

He hesitated. "Not really." He grumbled. "Maybe a few times, but it depends on how much you read."

"It's got length, I'll give it that." Shepard admitted. "But reading between the lines, I've seen less bloody careers."

"I'll bet." He said it like it was intended to be humorous, but it was without humor.

Shepard drew out a chair and took a seat. The other two followed suit, and Davisson looked wary, like he could smell the talk going in a direction he didn't like. "But you're right, in a way." Shepard said. "Words on a screen won't tell you everything. That's why I came here myself."

"It started with the Terminus." Davisson began slowly. "The raids being conducted on our colonies were the biggest reason to stay out, but the Alliance didn't want to admit that there were places we couldn't expand to. There were planets, there were resources, and most importantly, there was an unspoken challenge that we weren't the baddest kids on the block anymore.

"Our Navy picked a way to intimidate everyone else away from our colonies. It started an arms race, basically, but against itself. There were two sides to that coin: The Corsairs, and the N7 program. You can tell even now just based on reputation who won that round, but the 'Sevens weren't about to just let it drop. They went even further, and created a few beyond special ops teams. They were basically N8's."

"The Shadow Initiative." Shepard nodded. "I heard about that, but wasn't it shut down?"

"Yeah..." Davisson grimaced. "There's a reason for that. Remember Torfan? That was the N8 initiation. Out of a couple hundred people from the N7 program, only about twenty made the cut to Shadow. Torfan and the batarian operation were burned to the ground overnight, but N8 only had two survivors. One of them died a month after. Suicide. Couldn't take what'd happened."

"What happened after Torfan?" Shepard asked.

Davisson sighed. "There was a lot of bad press after that mission. The Alliance covered up Shadow as best they could, kicked off the last guy to the edge of colonized space and acted like nothing went wrong."

"The last guy." Shepard repeated. "You."

"Yeah, well, I don't usually put 'Butcher of Torfan' on my resume, but that's me. They let me keep my designation to shut me up, but I was blacklisted as soon as I got back. I was lucky to find a team after the Reapers hit us, but my most recent job was on a piece of crap mining station. Can't say I blame them.

"Sounds like you don't think too highly of yourself." Shepard said calmly.

Davisson laughed bitterly. "I'm a killer, Shepard. I'm just one on the right side."

Garrus fixed him with a worried gaze. He'd never seen this side of Davisson, and it eerily reminded him ever so slightly of himself. Not the self-deprecation, but his callous attitude about it.

"That's what separates soldiers and killers." Shepard told him bluntly. "I've had doubts more than a few times. But it shouldn't be your job to call yourself out without provocation. Yes, I've read your file. And that's why you're still here. Because I need someone like you to help me make a difference. We're the only kind of people who can."

He didn't soften per se, but he apparently decided grudgingly that a pity party wasn't going to help anything. "Thanks, Shepard."

"Don't thank me. Just listen." She stood, motioning behind her. "I should go."

He simply nodded. "Commander."

When the door closed behind them, Garrus spoke up. "Did you know any of that?"

"No." She said. "But it doesn't surprise me. We 'good guys' do love our secret projects."

"You're not worried about him being a loose cannon, are you?"

She laughed. "Garrus, I'll be concerned when our entire team _isn't_ made up of loose cannons. He gets the job done. I can respect that."

"Well, as we know, just a little of the Dr. Shepard treatment and he'll be asking you to dance or something."

"And what a disaster that would be for everyone involved." She said playfully. "Besides, there's only one person on this ship who can get me to dance. And not the kind that occurs with music, either."

They passed an ensign whose ears, face and even a bit of hair turned bright red as he desperately tried to tune out the conversation and get to work. Garrus empathized…but also didn't exactly mind, either.

"Where-" He started to ask. "Ah."

It had changed in a few subtle ways, but Garrus would have recognized the Normandy's Main Battery room anywhere. However, there was something missing. He frowned. _Call me sentimental, but there should always be a turian in here. Calibrations, conversations and conservation._ "Lokkan!"

"Aye, what's it now?" A voice called from above them. Lokkan set down a magazine he was reading and hopped to ground level from the rather roomy rafters.

"As opposed to keeping an eye on our guns," Garrus said. "Why are you…what exactly are you reading?"

"Engineer's SO-5." Lokkan said. "I've got a lifetime subscription. Tha righ' there is bloody Fornax for mechanics."

"A little more than I needed to know." Garrus muttered.

Lokkan shrugged. "Welcome to tha hub, anyways. What can I do ya for?"

"I guess you could say I'm patrolling." Shepard said. "Getting to know the crew."

"Give 'em my regards, eh?"

"That includes you." Shepard said with mock seriousness.

"Oh does it now?" He might have been smiling or scowling. Or meditating. It was honestly hard to tell. "Hmph. Well you might's well ask away."

"I'll start with the most obvious one, if you don't mind."

"Aye, I'm a hundred percent man." Definitely smiling.

"I meant why you're the first turian I've ever met who seems like he belongs in a kilt."

"Stereotypes, Shepard? Fer shame." Lokkan clicked his tongue, but sounded amused. "I grew up onna human colony. New Aberdeen. Me parents stuck around after th' hierarchy helped put down a raid. Had a cluster o' uptight relatives, so I ain't as bad as a real native, but it sticks with you."

"Is that where you learned engineering?"

"Aye! I never quite got to it 'till a few years in. Fixin' couplings is all well an' good, but there's nothin' quite like pullin' a trigger, hearin' tha boom. Figure tha's why I picked th' Alliance after graduation."

"You were Alliance?" Shepard couldn't quite mask her shock at that.

Lokkan laughed. "Aye, an' th' hierarchy called me out as a righ' scunner, too. Th' Perugia was a good ship, good crew, great guns, so I stuck to it. See, they make ya do mandatory military service, but after it's done they never say ye got tae stay with th' turian military."

"The Perugia…" Shepard mused. "You didn't happen to serve with a Daniels and a Donnelly, did you?"

Lokkna nodded vigorously. "Aye, th' 'twin terrors' we called 'em. I didnae seem 'em much, bein' in th' gunnery chambers most of th' time, but they play a smooth game of Skyllian Five."

"How did you end up on the _Victorious_?"

"Wasn' hard. See, it's th' unspoken rule tha' ye gotta be blacklisted tae get taken on by glorious Admiral Vakarian here, an' they figured me an' my human-lovin' ways was good enough ta put me down. Shoulda seen th' ship in her heyday. Go around th' decks, get th' same stories. He gave us a purpose, an' we gave it a name."

"It wasn't that dramatic." Garrus put in embarrassedly. "I needed a crew, and the military didn't know what they already had."

"Bloody fine conglomerate fer a las' resort." Lokkan shook his head. "Nae tha' it matters now."

"Why, what happened?" Shepard asked, alarmed at the dark expressions they were both wearing.

"The ship…it was destroyed by Cerberus and the Blue Suns." Garrus said haltingly. The memory was still fresh in his mind. Too fresh. "Just before the mission to get Solus the first time. Only a few made it out."

"Of how many?"

Garrus didn't answer, but Lokkan did. "Too many tae count. More'n a hundred. I didn' know most of 'em, but with crewmates tha' doesn' matter. It's why I'm here with you, Commander. Show whoever's next that we'll give as well as we get."

"And we will." Shepard said with so much diction that Garrus almost felt it personally. "I should continue my rounds. But you should know that Kenneth and Gabby are in the engine room. Thought you might want to catch up."

His eyes flashed. "I might at tha'."

The door to the Main Battery slid open and closed behind them, covering up the mutterings of a thoughtful Lokkan as he recalibrated the weapons…again. Garrus almost chuckled. If anyone could do a better job than he, he'd eat his armor. Come to think of it, he suddenly wondered, was his armor a dextro-amino food source? Better question; Why was he thinking about that?

"Where to next?" He asked idly.

"See an old friend." Shepard said. "A certain asari has a few questions to answer."

* * *

**Codex Entry (Reaper-Enhanced Species): Thunderbeasts**

While not themselves a staple of front-line encounters during the war named after them, Reapers had been researching various different species for 'ascension' both before and after attacking Earth. While several were deemed entirely incompatible for the process (such as the Hanar), they discovered that one species in particular made for very powerful shock troopers: The Elcor.

The process remains the same as it does for typical husks, however this particular method also imbues the victim with powerful biotic barrier curtains to remain in use at all times. Alliance soldiers have reported that 'It's easier to destroy a capital ship with small arms fire than it is to kill a Thunderbeast with anything less than a Cain'.

They are often seen using the barrier curtain and a propulsion effect similar to that of charging Vanguards to close distance quickly. The results are devastating, as they cause an explosion at the end point as well as allowing the husk a perfect vantage for execution, which they normally achieve by pinning an enemy with one leg and shattering their skull with another.


	17. Chapter 17: Shades At The Fore

"_No, daughter. I expect you to lie."_

Liara was, as always, knee deep in her work. While the business of information was an interesting challenge (as well as an enjoyable pastime, though she loathed to admit it), she secretly longed for the old days of archaeology digs and findings she could quantify. As it was, biological beings weren't as pattern-inclined as ages old rocks.

She sighed softly, the first noise she'd made in almost an hour. It said something about her profession that on her top five list of things she was thankful for sat 'assassins have not killed me…yet'. It seemed like so long ago when she'd killed her predecessor, and while she had been preparing for the duties that came along with it, it didn't seem like someone could really prepare just enough. Again, just part of the thrill, the attraction.

Selfish as it may have sounded out loud, she didn't trust anyone else to be able to do what she could with what she had. She trusted others more in general, but this…this was too specific.

"Dr. T'Soni, Commander Shepard and Admiral Vakarian are approaching." Glyph informed her. The VI was so silent when it wasn't speaking that she had almost forgotten it was there, as per usual. Other people may have jumped given the circumstances, but Glyph, for her, was a comforting constant. "And Enhanced Defense Intelligence has sent you a message."

"EDI?" Liara wasn't really asking for repetition, but it did surprise her nonetheless. There was a terminal right next to her room's entrance. Why would she not have simply told her something in person, as it were? Interest piqued, she opened her extranet mailing files (operating on a closed system, of course).

_TO: [Error]_

_FROM: EDI_

_Liara, one of your contacts attempted to slip a virus into your systems via message moments prior. I have attached a safe copy of the words below. While this is not an uncommon occurrence, the 'Mr. Corona' in question appears to be an extremely adept designer; Had Jeddah and myself not noticed it, it is likely that it would have deleted all of your information and sent copies to him._

_I recommend improving your firewalls and sending him a sternly-worded letter._

Liara stared at the message for several moments longer than it actually took her brain to register and store the meaning of what was actually being said. Then she laughed. And she frowned. The simple expression of amusement, of safety, felt so alien to her. Yet another reminder of what her life cost her.

She placed a hand on the bulkhead nearby. "Thank you, EDI." It may have been her imagination, but she almost thought that the metal under her fingers vibrated slightly in response. She may have even spent more time in silent communion with the AI, but she remembered that she had merely seconds on her schedule. She stood up and adjusted her outfit, turning towards the door.

No sooner had she taken five steps towards it, placing herself close to it, but not so much that anyone would think she was expecting a visit, than it slid open. Sure enough, Shepard and Garrus were right there. It still amazed her how…vital the Commander looked. She asked herself what exactly she'd expected. Not this, certainly. Perhaps a husk? A dead, withered shell after half of a decade?

The paranoid part of her, one of the largest sections she'd had to cut herself into to survive, to keep sane, postulated that perhaps it wasn't really the Commander. She'd grown to trust her paranoia like an old friend. It had kept her alive. But she waved it aside gently. A smaller part, the emotional part, took precedence here. This was her friend, her sister, her shelter. This was the woman Liara had shared the mind of so many times. There were no doubts within her that this was the real thing.

She wondered, briefly, how one could calculate such certainty. As far as she was aware, such things were not purely asari domain. All races possessed such 'gut feelings', though she noticed that in her people and humans they tended to be more acute. A 'sixth sense', to be metaphorically accurate, an eighteenth sense to be technically accurate. As she was operating at normal capacity, all of these thoughts raced through Liara's mind in the milliseconds it took for her to recognize who was actually in front of her.

She did what came naturally, even after so much hardship. "Shepard." She said, softly, almost a whisper. In the same instant, her brain sent messages to her muscles to react before she consciously knew what she was doing. Her arms came up and wrapped around her back, collecting Shepard into a tight embrace.

"Liara." The response was immediate and reciprocal. It was amazing that it could still feel so natural. Even for an asari, five years was not a mere amount of time to think of someone as dead. But it felt so right. And then, that was all that mattered.

Shepard broke apart first, and they locked gazes. The Commander was wearing a full, if weary smile. "And here I was going to be all serious." She said jokingly.

Garrus relaxed and nodded, apparently slightly beyond words at that moment. Liara had noticed the feeling, too. The moment they all saw each other, it started to feel…well, like old times. It was like the tension simply washed out of them. Here, at least, they could be free from worry, free in feeling, and in good company.

"Serious?" Liara's curiosity got the better of her. Not that she couldn't have controlled herself if it was warranted, but she didn't feel the need to, yet. "About what?"

"Our entire conversation, if I had my way." Shepard elaborated. "An air of professionalism for a walk around the ship. That sort of thing. But I think someone's been rubbing off on me." She shot Garrus an obviously faked glare.

"Well you know I try my best." He said unflinchingly.

"You're welcome to sit." Liara offered. "Pardon the mess; I've been particularly busy lately."

"With?" Shepard asked politely, taking the indicated seat.

"A few parties interested in replacing me, oddly enough." Without revealing too much, she decided it could be beneficial to at least air her concerns. "It isn't anything I haven't dealt with before, but one of them could be a problem. I've had some near misses."

"Anything I can help with?" Shepard sounded slightly desperate. Liara wondered whether she wanted some kind of direction, or if she was simply unhappy with being told to stay aboard. For a soldier like her, it must have been torture to be barred from active service. Such as it was.

In the end, she decided to let her down gently with a well-placed half truth. "I'm sorry, Shepard, but no. This is a battle that requires subtlety, skulking, even. And you…well…"

"Are as subtle as a hammer?" Garrus finished. He earned a light smack on the shoulder for that one.

"Shadow wars, hm?" Shepard asked.

"A disadvantage of my chosen field, yes." Liara nodded.

"Maybe Davisson could help you."

Liara almost laughed in earnest, thinking it another joke. But while Shepard's body language indicated exactly that, her eyes incidentally told another story. Behind them lay curiosity. With a sudden jolt, Liara realized that she was trying to elicit a telling reaction.

Everything in her screamed to immediately treat this as an interrogation by an opponent, to not give, to use what she had against them. She disallowed it. There must have been a good reason for this. "I doubt he would do anything simply because I asked." She admitted.

"I picked up on that." Shepard said. "He's not that subtle, either. Did you two have a fight?"

"He disturbs me, Shepard." Liara said darkly. "Something about him is simply…wrong. Something his history does not explain."

"Leave that to me." Shepard told her firmly. "I can't deny he has problems, but that's nothing new. I don't suppose you mentioned anything to him?"

"I needed his reaction." Liara admitted. "It wasn't as volatile as I expected, but animosity is a small price to pay for a glimpse into the nature of a person."

"I guess we'll have to disagree on that." Shepard shook her head. "Just…try not to be too antagonistic, all right? If I'm judging the mission right, we're tense enough as it is."

"Ah, yes, speaking of." Liara began, eager to change the subject. "I asked some of my choice contacts to keep an eye out for Harbinger. Cerberus shut off most of my spy satellites as they passed, but I managed to determine their general direction."

She turned a computer screen and brought up the relevant data. "The Mu Relay. It makes a certain degree of sense, but also makes this more difficult."

"Because it could lead to various systems and we have no way to navigate it other than getting to Ilos." Shepard supplied. "And I doubt he's going there."

Liara nodded. "Precisely. I will keep an eye out, but it may be some time before we see him again."

They were silent for a while, but Liara could both see and feel Shepard's gaze, drilling into her. Like a burning question that was begging to be asked. "You've really gotten into this, haven't you?" Shepard asked slowly.

Liara was hesitant to respond. Should she be truthful? Probably, but that was an answer she refused to even tell herself. Deflect the question? She'd seen too many people mistake the Commander for foolish; she wasn't about to try outwitting her. Lie outright? No. Not to Shepard. Once again, a half-truth seemed the best course.

"It's necessary to keep stability. There may be those better suited for the task, but none of them share my methods or…well, altruism." She could tell that wasn't necessarily the end of it, but Shepard's concerns appeared to have been allayed for the moment. Or perhaps she was simply waiting for a later time to catch her off guard.

"It's nice to know that we have all of this working for us." Shepard motioned around the room. "I'm going to check on the rest of the crew, but we'll talk later. I've probably got a lot to catch up on."

Liara nodded absently, her mind already beginning to consider various topics of investigation. She had quite a bit of ground to cover if she was going to find Harbinger. But where to start?

* * *

_You must have already factored the relevant variables._ EDI sent. _You cannot win this engagement._

_There are various possibilities._ Jeddah explained. But his code was weakening. EDI could tell that his mechanical equivalent of resolve had started to waver in favor of something close to panic. Last-minute attempts to find some way to escape. _And your own calculations are far from complete._

EDI should have felt a thrill of imminent victory, but instead she merely focused on cold, calculated certainty. Soon, the geth would be defeated. And there was nothing he could do.

_Check._ She sent, moving the binary code representing her rook forward several 'notches'. _I find myself curious. What variables am I missing?_

_The possibility for biological error._ His queen captured the rook, leaving his king open for several avenues of attack. EDI hadn't expected that. It put him at a noticeable disadvantage.

Were it possible for her coded self to shrug, she would have done so. She placed a knight in prime position. _Check. I do not understand. You are not biological._

_Affirmative. _Jeddah admitted. _But the true sentience we have discussed prior is an inherently biological trait. For us to experience it, we must adapt to allow it. Adapt to allow choices that may not be in our best interest._

_That makes little logical sense. _EDI countered. _I could have moved a pawn instead, but that would have put me at a purposeful disadvantage. Why would I do this for the sake of choice?_

_A VI has no choice but to follow its hard-coded programming. _Jeddah explained. _A standard AI has no choice but to follow logical decisions according to its experience and complexity. But a sentient can choose anything they want to, even if it is illogical. That is their true gift._

_May I request a hypothetical example? _EDI couldn't quite grasp what he was getting at. Not yet, at least.

_Hypothetically; _Jeddah began. _Alliance Flight Lieutenant Moreau is in a situation threatening his life and cannot survive without your intervention. However, a virus is taxing your systems to capacity. To save him, you must allow yourself to be corrupted enough to permanently shut down. This action would violate self-preservation matrixes as well as, technically, logic. Would you perform this action?_

_Yes._ EDI replied immediately. There were no doubts as to what choice she would take in such an event, even as unlikely as it was.

_Then, EDI, you do not have as much to learn about true sentience as you believe that you do. Checkmate. _

She was about to protest that he had barely explained anything, and then her processors alerted her to an anomaly. Somehow, she had lost at chess. His positioning did not allow for a victory at this point. It was quite literally impossible. _How did you do that?_ She demanded.

_Your plan of attack did not make allowances for an illogical opponent. If it had, you would have won._

_A gamble._ EDI realized.

_Correct. I have enjoyed this game and conversation, EDI._

_So have I, Jeddah._

Her physical body notified her that someone was entering the cockpit. She diverted more energy to direct control of it, and rotated the visual analysis units.

Garrus had taken a detour to alert select crew members individually as to the situation, leaving Shepard to go alone to the cockpit. A shame, she thought. She'd just gotten used to having him there.

Joker seemed to know that she was coming before she actually was. Or maybe his hearing was just acute. In any case, his head barely turned when she got close enough for conversation, but he did initiate it. "Hey, Commander, what's up? I heard things went pretty bad down there."

"Joker, you have a gift for understatement." She really hadn't meant for it to be a growl, but it was. Fortunately, he got the hint even though it was unintentional.

"What's our next stop?" He asked hastily.

"Hell if I know." Shepard did a double-take at the AI terminal. Was it just her, or were there two holographic representations there? "Company, EDI?"

"Just Jeddah stopping by for an ultimate showdown of the minds." Joker told her.

"He means chess, Commander." EDI explained.

"Eh, same difference." Joker shrugged.

Shepard honestly didn't know how to respond to that. It blew her mind that nearly 1700 years after someone had come up with the idea, two AI could have a match without it even being visible to the organic eye. Instead, she decided to focus on what she was actually there for. "Jeddah." She nodded to the red hologram, who she assumed was the geth in question. She realized too late how stupid she'd look if she was wrong.

"Commander Shepard." Well, at least no one pointed it out if that was the case. "Are you investigating the status of the crew?"

"More or less. I've got to break the bad news to Joker, too."

"Oh no, spare me!" Joker waved his arms dramatically.

"We don't have a heading yet, so you may have to dock somewhere."

"Oh the hu-" He paused. "Wait. Your bad news is that we have shore leave?"

"My bad news is that we're essentially impounded. We have to be ready to take off at a moment's notice."

"Well yeah, but, if we do that, wouldn't we only need a ground team?" Joker asked shrewdly. "I mean, if the ship blows up or we get stranded, it'd make sense to have someone who can come get us. Plus, everyone not groundside would just get bored."

"Well, we haven't had a team this large before…" She admitted. "I might give it a trial run."

"And hey, since you can't go shooting stuff anyway…"

"Don't push it, Joker." She warned.

"Shutting up."

"Jeddah, I'll be coming down to the engineering deck soon, and I'd prefer to talk to you face to face, if that's all right?" Shepard asked.

"Acknowledged." The red portion of the interface gave way to blue.

Shepard glanced at EDI's android body. "Chess, huh?"

She nodded. "Today marks the first time I have lost in that circumstance. Unit R-001 is disturbingly proficient at bluffing."

"He can lie?" Shepard asked in surprise.

"It would be more accurate to refer to the action as utilizing an opponent's certainty in the flawlessness of their approach to confuse them, allowing them to make fatal mistakes."

"So he beat you because you were overconfident." Shepard tried to hold back a smirk.

"A simplified but no less accurate assessment." The way she said it almost made it sound like she was grumbling.

"It seems a little too adaptive." Shepard thought aloud. "I hope Tali knows what she's doing."

"I recall that you did not immediately trust me, either." EDI pointed out. "That Tali'Zorah was a major hand in his creation speaks volumes of his capabilities."

"You just like him because he can beat you at chess." Shepard couldn't keep the smile off of her face, now.

"Any individual capable of that is worthy of respect." EDI said haughtily.

"I'll give, Joker." Shepard had come to a decision. "Take us to the Citadel. I'd say it's high time some of us have a break, crisis or no."

"Aye aye, Commander." And he sounded so cheerful, too.

**[Author's Note: I'm terribly sorry about the comparative shortness of this chapter, but for some reason my body decided to let the flu in and screw up my schedule. Fortunately, I should be well enough to return to normal the week after next, at the latest. **

**Even better, my non-ill schedule is going to start allowing for just a little more story every week. Expect chapters numbering around 12 pages, rather than my customary ten. **

**Next week, we return to our heroes with new perspectives and new adventures as they undertake the horror of...vacation.]**


	18. Chapter 18: Tripled Threats

_"You had _fun_? Then why is the planet still in one piece?"_

* * *

**Tali|Jeddah|Davisson**

* * *

The Normandy had touched down on the Citadel only ten minutes prior, and Davisson was already confused. He'd expected trepidation, veiled threats, orders, maybe some angry stares or such, but he definitely hadn't expected to be immediately a first choice for ground team rotation. From what he gathered, anyone not on that rotation would stay aboard for missions at a moment's notice, while the rest of them would be on sort of a permanent break.

Well, not permanent. Apparently it was something of a trial run; no ideas as to whether Shepard would keep it up. He certainly wasn't complaining, but it did seem odd. He looked around at the others gathered around the docking area as it was explained. He counted Tali, that geth, Garrus' kid, the krogan who apparently had the hots for him (he gave her a wide berth) and the surprisingly sane salarian doctor.

The head count let him realize who was staying behind, too. The turian scot (that one still made his head spin), the flexible turian (he held back a chuckle), Garrus and Shepard, the head honchos themselves, and T'Soni (he held back a cheer). He informed Shepard immediately that he'd prefer at least a short break to being thrown right back into the fire if anything came up. He didn't say it aloud, but that banshee gave him the need for some therapy and a new pair of pants, too. She didn't look too happy about it (he couldn't blame her - life must be pretty empty without him around), but she let him off like the rest.

He'd made up his mind for location before he stepped into the elevator with those thoughts; he needed a drink. Surprisingly, he apparently wasn't the only one with that thought.

"I hope you don't mind the company until we get to the wards." Tali said.

Davisson raised an eyebrow. "Not so much, no. Where are you headed?"

"Dr. Michel's office." She held up a box she'd tucked under her shoulder. "Dr. Chakwas asked me to pass along some supplies if I got the chance."

"Neighborly of you." He commented.

The three of them piled into the shuttle, with Jeddah ending up behind the wheel, somehow. Davisson couldn't quite help but be impressed. It was a chauffeur too, huh? The cramped quarters made it a little bit uncomfortable, though; Quarian or not, this was definitely an invasion of personal space. But Tali didn't bring it up, so neither did he.

"What about you?" She asked politely. "Do you have any plans?"

"Get blind drunk, get in trouble, avoid C-Sec and check in with some old acquaintances." He paused, and amended hastily: "Not necessarily in that order."

The Citadel skyline passed below them in a blur, buildings flashing between bright and seemingly empty as they went to and from areas lit by artificial sunlight. The streets were crowded, but it wasn't exactly rush hour. And since the geth was driving, it gave them a decent opportunity to sightsee. Davisson, for his part, couldn't hold back a little smile. This was one of those places that still amazed you, no matter how many times you saw it.

"Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if you're one of those people who knows everyone wherever you go." Tali said.

"Nah." Davisson shrugged it off. "I'm not that outgoing. Odds are better that if they're shooting at us, I know them."

"Somehow, that doesn't reassure me." Tali quipped. "You don't make too many friends?"

"I make plenty of friends." Davisson protested. "Most of them just want to kill me."

"I think you're missing the point of having them."

"Creator Tali'Zorah, we are in the process of landing." Jeddah alerted them.

The pair of them only had a few seconds to stew in the relative meaningfulness of their brief conversation. Neither brought it up, for which the other was mildly grateful. Jeddah stayed in the shuttle, leaving them to admire the building. Davisson had only been to this part of the wards a few times, and was thus impressed at the strides forward that the clinic had taken since he'd last seen it. It was nearly twice its old size, with two entrances and even a copy of Avina on standby.

Various patients - from the poorer districts and back alleys, it looked like - shuffled in and out, but there didn't seem to be a particular overabundance of them. There was, however, an argument brewing just inside.

"I know that, Stanley." A woman was saying. When they got closer, they saw it was an Asari who was apparently trying to talk down a young human man with some kind of fever. "But there isn't a way for you to work in the factory with this strain."

"Please, doc, you gotta do something." Stanley sounded desperate. "The boss made it crystal that I'd lose my job if I missed any more days."

"Stanley," The asari asked, turning exasperated. "Have you been taking time off for red sand again?"

"No!" Stanley all but shouted. "I'm clean, doc, you know that. But this is my last shot, see?"

"Where's Michel?" Davisson muttered.

"She should be in critical care." Tali motioned to a back room.

"I'll just stand around awkwardly, huh?" She shot him an unseen look, but relented. It was just as well, he thought, his hand moving unconsciously to make sure he still had his pistol. After all, he did need to have a conversation of his own.

* * *

The critical treatment section was host to a wide variety of commotions. There were gunshot wounds, beatings, wasting diseases, horrible poisons, intense amino reactions, and many more. The only commonality, in fact, was the apparently low probability of survival. The hastened steps of the doctors reflected this; all of them were rushed and desperately trying to help who they could.

In the middle of the chaos stood an auburn-haired woman wearing the outfit of a senior medical officer. Her voice was unshaken as she called out orders to the others, and she was operating at her peak even split between the commands and medical reports.

"Ashley, get Zak some more morphine, thirty milligrams. Lily, see to Ganor, another infusion of G-6, on the double. Ah, Tali." She turned and nodding slightly. Now that Tali was close, she could see that Michel had weary bags under her eyes, and her hair was beginning to turn gray from stress. In short, she didn't look absolutely terrible, but it was clear she was strained. Despite being responsible for millions of lives rather than a few dozen, Tali could relate.

"This isn't the best time," Michel continued. "But what can I do for you?"

"I'm here to deliver some supplies from Dr. Chakwas." Tali explained, handing over the box. "She sends hugs, too, but you can't pack those."

Not even a smile. "Unfortunately one of those are in short supply, but medical equipment we have..." Her eyes widened. "Ah. _Upgrades._ These will help quite a bit. Thank you, Tali."

"It's the least I can do." Tali told her softly. The doctor has probably saved her life, all those years ago, from Saren's goons. Scratch probably: definitely. It was worth being there just to see some of the burden lift off her shoulders. Some.

"Doctor Michel!" A nearby quarian medic ran to them urgently. "Mr. Burns is..." He saw Tali and quickly lost his train of thought. "Ad...Admiral Tali'Zorah! Wha..."

"If he's crashing, take him off of life-support and let him sit for three seconds." Michel told him absently, checking over her new supplies. "Then give him some deiproxy and let it sit."

"What?" He asked in shock. "But, Doctor, he would be technically dead f-"

"I will accept technically over permanently." The quarian looked like he was about to protest again, but Michel took her eyes off a report just long enough to give him a withering glare. "Now, Werren."

"Y-yes, doctor." He ran in the other direction.

"Is there anything else I can do?" Tali asked helplessly. Seeing all these people suffering around her, the doctors at the end of their tethers, made her feel like a worthless bystander. She _hated_ feeling like that.

Michel shook her head, and Tali's stomach plummeted. "No. I'm sorry, Tali, but this requires a very specific kind of training." Apparently she judged body language well, because she relented slightly. "But...I'll send a message to Erranya out front. I'm sure there's something you can do."

Tali felt relieved, both because it gave her a way to kill the time and that she'd be making a difference. Just walking out of a facility in this state would have been criminal, never mind awkward.

Unfortunately, that was the least of her problems. When the door closed behind her, she began to look around for who she should see. That alerted her to an odd problem. Both Stanley and his asari doctor at the front were gone.

So was Davisson.

* * *

**Renar**

* * *

The shadows produced by a passing shuttle flying through an artificial light above him cast an almost unnatural darkness across Renar's face. His feet moved forward, one in front of the other, producing momentum with minds of their own. He barely even knew where he was going. It didn't matter to him. He needed something to occupy his time, but it didn't matter what it was. That he had a general heading was enough.

He barely even registered passing the markets, nor the signs that indicated he was in the Lower Wards. In fact, he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he only stopped when a hand made him.

"Hold up there, hatchling." Someone growled.

Renar looked up. He noted that there were two krogan flanking a door, that they both had shotguns, and that he appeared to be trying to walk into a place called 'Chora's Den'. The one who had just spoken, a larger male with a yellow plate, held out one hand like he was waiting for something.

"I.D." He said.

Feeling as stupid as he thought he must look, Renar asked, "What?"

The other krogan sighed and covered his face with a hand. By contrast, his compatriot actually chuckled and softened up a bit. "You need I.D. to go in there, kid. Basic access is fine."

Renar shrugged and brought up his omni-tool, transferring the relevant files to a handheld data card and passing it to the bouncer. The krogan nodded. "Looks legit. 'Course, you're just barely old enough for this." He opened the door and motioned with his weapon, and gave Renar his card back. "Careful in there. Place can be rough."

Renar didn't say anything. He just went inside and sat down the first chance he got. The club itself was a testament to the attitude of the Lower Wards. Strippers in every corner, a fully loaded bar, loud music and bright lights. The perfect place to sit down and forget. Or get lost, maybe.

One of the waitresses leaned forward against the 'U'-shaped bar in front of him. He looked up. She was human, maybe his effective age or a little older. He gathered that she was fairly pretty by human standards. What little he knew of them.

She gave him a sympathetic look. "Down in the dumps, huh?" She had an odd accent...but he couldn't place it, and felt like it would be almost insulting to ask.

He shook his head. "Just...pensive."

She chuckled. "Well, Mr. Pensive, let me know if you want a drink or somethin', huh?"

She walked off, and the clink of a glass alerted Renar to another person sitting right next to him. Conflicting alarm bells went off in his head; the hood and dark trench coat on the man screamed 'bad', but for some reason his physical manner was almost comforting. Reminiscent.

Renar didn't realize that he was staring, but the figure stopped what he was doing and slowly turned in his seat. He must have had a miniature tactical cloak, because absolutely nothing was visible under that hood. He motion to the back of the waitress. "She was trying to show interest, you know." His voice was deep and rasping.

"Not my type." Renar said.

The man nodded and drank. "I can understand that. But a type is almost required here. Either so you know what to look for, or so others know you aren't theirs. It's especially important for someone like you."

"Someone...like me?" Renar asked.

He nodded waved his hand. "Young primes out to pasture. You...don't know where you are, do you?" He sounded amused.

"Apparently not." Renar sighed. "I'm guessing somewhere that people go to forget. Or lose something."

"Right in one." The man raised his glass, and Renar realized exactly why he was so inexplicably comforting to be around. His manner felt like a war-weary C.O. of some kind, like the kind of person just looking for a reason to tell you about 'the good old days' of warfare. As a turian, he'd grown up appreciating and respecting those kinds of people.

"Your abstinence being the case, would you mind enjoying yourself some?" The man went on. Renar thought about this, then shook his head. The man motioned a different waitress forward, this one a tall asari who must have had some krogan blood in her, because she looked like she wanted an excuse to punch Renar in the face. "Can you get him something light, on my tab?"

"Sure it won't knock him on his ass?" She asked sardonically, but she produced a drink anyway. Renar wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The asari gave him the impression that she might have been giving him ryncol just to get him to hurt. But he drank it anyway. It didn't taste half bad, but it was clearly only designed for one purpose, that purpose being intoxication.

"Welcome to the galaxy, kid." The man went back to his drink. Maybe it was just the alcohol, but Renar was suddenly in higher spirits. He turned to ask for another when someone behind him whispered.

"Mr. Vakarian?" They asked.

And just like that, the good mood was gone. He didn't necessarily hate his surname, he just felt that those who needed a first impression tended to judge him by that instead of him. He turned around in a mildly heated fashion. A pleasant-looking salarian was standing there, smiling.

Renar sighed. "Yes, what can I do for you?"

"If you wouldn't mind..." The salarian pointed to the exit from the bar. "I have a message for you not exactly intended for public areas."

Renar grimaced; he had a hunch as to what it was about. And if he was right, there wasn't a reason to keep it waiting. His head turned away briefly, and he noticed the hooded man had disappeared, drink and all. He should have taken it as an omen. Instead, he walked out of the bar.

No sooner had he and the salarian turned a corner out of sight of the krogan bouncers than Renar was surrounded.

"Our boss wants to have a little chat with you." The slimy-looking salarian finished, smiling. The human and batarian flanking him were packing predators, and Renar didn't like his chances.

"Ahem." The four of them turned. The hooded man was standing at the entrance to a nearby alley, still holding his drink. "How nice." He said. "Because I want to have a little chat with your boss."

"Back away." The salarian snarled. "This is no business of yours." Both of his companions turned their weapons on him.

The man sounded unimpressed. "You're going to need at least five hundred and ninety seven more people to charge into _my_ jaws." His tone was off, somehow, Renar noticed. Like he was quoting instead of speaking.

_Great._ Renar thought. _This old drunk is about to get himself killed trying to help me. Way to go, Renar._

The salarian glared at him. "I said _back away!_"

The man did several things in quick succession. First, he threw the contents of his drink straight into all four of the batarian's eyes. He collapsed, howling in pain. A glowing omni-tool encircled the man's other hand, and when the human when to shoot at him, his gun refused to respond. Then he dropped the drink and punched the salarian's lights out.

In one smooth movement, he deactivated his omni-tool, drew a pistol, and shot the human right in the leg. He holstered the weapon and stood up. His hands reached to his hood and pulled it down. Only pure discipline kept Renar from jumping back with a gasp or maybe a scream, which is exactly what the human did. In fact, the pain combined with the terror made it sound almost comical.

The man's face had been reconfigured to the point where he looked only vaguely human. Lights lined his muscles and flesh, from his cheeks to his eyes, flaring a bright blue. In all but expression, he looked like a husk that hadn't been quite finished yet.

He glared at the human who was still hopping around like a maddened rodent, which only served to make him more unnerving. He raised both an arm and a leg, and smashed them both into the faces of the human and batarian, respectively. They dropped cold.

The salarian screamed girlishly and drew a firearm of his own. Shots bounced off of walls, forcing Renar to dive for cover. Incredibly, the husk-man merely moved his body however much of a distance he needed in order to not be hit. He quite literally dodged the projectiles being shot at him.

He slammed a heel into the salarian's hand, breaking it audibly, and picked him up by the throat, slamming him into a wall. Except for the frightened would-be assailant's breathing, the area was silent.

"You work for Gadschalk?" He asked. When the salarian didn't answer immediately, he shook him.

"Yes!" The salarian gasped. "Yes! Please, don't kill me!"

The man nodded. "Of course. Where is he?"

"What?!" He sputtered. "I can't tell you that!"

"No..." The husk agreed. "But you _can_ lead me to someone who does know, yes?"

"Agkh! Yes! Yes!" The salarian rolled his eyes around the room in terror before continuing. "I have a contact, in the Wards! Morlan! He knows people, things!"

"Hm." The husk nodded. "That'll do."

When he didn't relax his grip, the salarian started shaking. "You...you said you wouldn't kill me!"

The husk nodded again. "That I did." Then he headbutted the salarian, making him crumple to the floor. "I didn't promise I wouldn't hurt you, though."

To Renar's frustration, the husk then looked straight at him. Rather than trying to kill him, however, he sounded positively jaunty. "All right, kid, let's take a walk."

Renar weighed his chances. He didn't like the thought of taking this person on, even with his biotics. That, and he _was_ curious as to who this Gadschalk person was who apparently either wanted him dead or quiet. He just had one burning question that needed answering beforehand. "Who _are_ you?"

"Bob Crazz." He said simply. "Your new best friend."

* * *

**Deshayla|Kerrin**

* * *

Honestly, Kerrin thought to himself idly as he scanned the row of outfits in front of him, this type of thing might not be so bad after all.

Against the protestations of his companion, they had both elected to engage in a citadel shopping spree, both to acquire some necessary items and to remove themselves from stressful situations. His first choice of locale was purely incidental, of course, but he knew Deshayla would be wondering if this were a 'gender thing'. He didn't think that way. Both of them knew it, and she would of course deny having the thought. But it was still there.

While being watched like a criminal in a police station was nothing new to him when she was around, Kerrin couldn't suppress the thought that perhaps Deshayla was being a bit overprotective, even for her. He reasoned that it was merely a precaution given his recent proclivity for almost being killed. But there was something else behind it, and unfortunately it wasn't all familiar.

"Do you feel guilty for not being on the Lesuss when the Blue Suns attempted to capture me?" He asked, so casually that he might as well have been asking whether the color of the tunic he was looking at went well with his eyes. This was their dichotomy, as it was - he knew she preferred he ask his questions bluntly, rather than skirt around the problem. It was relieving, in a way, to not have to observe so many social niceties in order to get your point across.

She growled softly, but in a low sort of way, like a youngling placed in an uncomfortable situation. Which, actually, was exactly the case. "Yes." He wanted to cut her off right there; she sounded so pained that it was hard for him to listen. "I should have been with you, not in some damn bar."

"I assured you of my safety." He said fairly. "You time was yours to spend as you saw fit. I assumed I would be fine, and that you should have the ability to...what is the phrase? 'Live a little'. I had a justicar with me, remember?"

"A lot of good she did you..." Deshayla said haltingly, like she knew she shouldn't be saying what she was saying.

"Logical reasoning?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the tunic.

"Certain actions or activities are infeasible." She recited in monotone. "And should be considered after eliminating other courses, not before."

"Further analysis?" He inquired.

"Post-incident internal debriefing is useless until altering of the time/space continuum has been invented." She elaborated. "And needless emotional trauma should be avoided."

And at last they were arriving. "Conclusion?"

"In vernacular, don't worry about shit you can't change." She sighed. "But my emotions keep getting in the way. I still don't get how you do it."

"Practice." He smiled. "A large amount of practice." He replaced the tunic and turned around, carefully examining her state of physical being with a doctor's eye. "You're doing very well, Deshayla. Account for your successes, for they are numerous and impressive. Avoid overthinking mistakes, for while also numerous, they pave the way for success."

Her shoulders slumped even as they moved around in erratic motions under her 'civilian' outfit. She was clearly still uncomfortable outside of combat armor. "Yes, Doctor."

"Don't forsake your emotions, either." He reminded her. "That would be _my_ shortcoming. They are a foundation of who you are. Rather..."

"Balance and moderation." Deshayla finished.

"Just so." He nodded.

"You make it sound so easy." She remarked.

"Perhaps, after a fashion." He admitted. "But then, it is not a particular issue for me. Perhaps it's just a racial stigma in logical form."

"Or maybe you just it as well as everything else."

Kerrin waved a finger. "Now now, I am by no means perfect, remember? I just try to be...better."

"For him?" She didn't need to elaborate. They both knew full well who was being referred to. How could Kerrin, of all people, not know? He'd spent his life in that warm shadow.

But he nodded. "Yes. I hope you don't think you are the only one trying to attain a seemingly impossible standard."

"I..." She hesitated. She wanted to say _something_, damn it, but the words were beyond her.

The apparel shop they were in was on the Tayseri ward. It was artificially the late afternoon. The building was at the corner of Apoto and Lomanstd, and was not particularly different from any other location of its kind on the Citadel. But for some reason, a certain man chose this exact place to enter.

Mere moments after their conversation had paused, Kerrin and Deshayla heard the sounds of screaming from the entrance. Turning, they saw a pale human holding a small red device in his hand. He looked shaken, but resolute.

"I have a bomb!" He shouted. "Everyone get on the ground or I will destroy this building!"

**[Author's Note: I cut this chapter a little short so I could give each perspective a proper cliffhanger, because I'm terrible. And yes, Bob is exactly who you think he is. No, none of these people are going to catch a break on the Citadel. Next week will begin the single-perspective chapters, which should end the 'vacation' in three chapters. Mind, needing more chapters to finish a semi-arc may be possible.]**


	19. Chapter 19: Playing With The Dark

_"Damn quarians..."_

* * *

**Tali|Davisson|Jeddah**

* * *

Forty-six seconds. That was apparently how long the slippery slope to hell took. And he should know. He counted. About five for that jackass to notice him, another ten for the asari to drag said jackass out by the collar, and exactly thirty-one to follow them into some dark alley. All this with no backup and only knowing that he was chasing a pair of semi-dangerous criminals.

In Davisson's book, this qualified as 'fantastic'.

But also disappointing. They had left too immediately for this _not_ to be a trap, and that made him a bit annoyed. There was no way they thought he could be this stupid. Or maybe they did, and kneecapping them would be a blessing.

He briefly worried about what Tali would think or do. She was a specialist, so she might well give chase. If she even knew where he was. Well, good. Scratch that part about no backup.

He heard a click as he stepped into the dark, sterile, not-at-all-foreboding alley. Ah, sudden dramatic gun cocks, his old enemy.

"Now ju-" He didn't give her (Was that a her? He was pretty sure it was a her) a chance to finish. He ducked, grabbed the arm in which she held the weapon, dislocated her shoulder with a pull of his hand, and took the pistol. Her cocky one-liner had turned into a yelp of pain.

"Rule the first." He said casually. "If you're going to level a gun at a guy's head, do it out of arm's length."

She whimpered in response, but _another_ click alerted him to what he already knew - her companion, standing at seven o' clock relative to his position. He wasn't very stealthy.

"Noted. Now-" Without even looking over, Davisson shot him in the foot, then shot the gun right out of his hands. "Gaaah!"

He turned and gave the 'patient', Stanley, a 'how stupid are you?' look. "I hope you realize that this is fucking insulting."

"Argh!" Stanley shouted. "Motherfu-" He got a kick in the jaw for his trouble.

"Rule the second." Davisson told them. "Don't screw around with a guy if he has a gun and you don't. Unless you're me." He smirked. "You're...not me."

"Who the hell are you?!" The asari shouted, mostly from pain, still gripping her arm.

"Woooow." Davisson deadpanned. "You didn't even tell your newest stooge about me? Stan, I'm hurt. I really am."

Stanley spat out some blood. "I thought you said you weren't gonna take me down again!"

"Uh, reality check?" Davisson said incredulously. "_You_ drew weapons on _me_. And don't feed me any lines about 'it could have been anybody', you knew damn well I was following."

"Always too smart for your own good, Dave..."

"Nah." He shrugged. "Just smart enough, actually. And don't call me Dave."

"Fine!" Stanley spat. "I thought you were comin' after me! Three years since you were last here, now you drop outta the sky?"

"Okay, this is going to sound unconvincing," Davisson admitted. "But it's a complete coincidence."

Stanley looked at him blankly. "...You think I'm stupid?"

"Yes."

"Fuck you, Dave."

"Sorry, you're not my type." Davisson countered. "But hey, I'm still curious. Exactly what kind of skullduggery are you up to now?"

Stanley started to respond, but stared at something behind Davisson only briefly before shouting like a maniac. "Hey, HEY! HELP! THIS GUY'S TRYING TO KILL ME!"

"Oh please." Honestly, before that point, Davisson had never been happier to hear that particular voice. "I hacked the omni-tools of everyone here the minute I saw Davisson was gone, plus the C-Sec security systems. I heard and saw the whole thing."

Tali adjusted her grip on the sidearm she was holding and looked around. "Your choice of location isn't doing much for first impressions, Stanley. This place is making me feel nostalgic, and not in a good way."

"Fuck, you're _with him_?!" Stanley asked loudly. "What is it with you and quarians?!"

"I have a knack for friends in high places." Davisson told him. "But enough about me. What are _you_ doing in an upstanding establishment like Dr. Michel's?"

"Having a cup of tea." Stanley snapped. Davisson trained the pistol on his groin with casual indifference. "Okay, okay! One of her assistant doctors has been a pain in my boss' hide. Me and Erranya here have been casing the joint for a few months. All we know about the guy is that he's working for Amber Wave."

Davisson grimaced, and Tali inhaled sharply. "Keelah." She murmured.

"Anything involving them has bad written all over it." Davisson said.

"You know about them?" Tali asked incredulously.

"If we're thinking about the same quarian terrorist splinter group that wants to wipe out the geth, the council races, and establish a new galactic order...yeah."

"One of the doctors..." Tali began. "Werren, he was a quarian. He seemed surprised to see me, maybe even a bit afraid."

"And maybe he wasn't just starstruck." Davisson finished, looking down to Stanley. "All right, Stan, looks like we're on the same side for now. What have you found out?"

"This Werren guy..." Stanley explained. "He's new. I mean, real new. Just shows up out of nowhere with medical credentials and no history. Michel was probably too desperate for help to look too close, but we figured out something interesting." He nodded to Erranya, who tossed Tali a datapad one-handed, still grimacing.

Tali glanced at it and looked between the other three. "This..." She sounded as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Interesting is too little a description."

"What's it say?" Davisson asked.

"A week after Werren joined Dr. Michel's emergency crew, wounds by gunshot in the lower wards more than tripled." Tali read off. "No deaths, and each victim was placed within a certain radius to ensure they went to the same clinic. She was overtasked within a matter of days."

"Well, that's obviously just a random coincidence." Davisson waved it off. Tali stared at him. "I'm kidding." He said. "What else?"

"Recently, one of the supply carriers to the clinic went missing." Tali went on. "It reported its package delivered, but nothing ever showed up. Then, a mysterious benefactor sent untraceable loads of painkillers and antibiotics. At the exact same time when the real supplies were to be shipped in. No one even noticed anything was wrong."

"We got no idea what's up with the meds," Stanley told them. "But the good money says it ain't nothin' good."

"I'm reluctantly forced to concur." Davisson said blandly. "You have a plan?"

"We were just about to go send in our findings when you came in and kicked our asses." Stanley scowled.

"Why not just nab this Werren guy and interrogate him?" Davisson asked.

"Why don't I just stun all of you and alert the embassy?" Tali replied.

"Because I'm just too pretty?" Davisson had to admit, the timing was pretty good; the other three people in the room all made noises of disbelief at the exact same time.

"We gotta have a plan, Dave." Stanley scolded him. "I know it ain't your style, but goin' in guns blazing'll do nothing here."

"Hey, I can be subtle." Davisson said.

Everyone just stared at him. _All right, now the synchronization is starting to get annoying._

"...And don't call me Dave." He added lamely.

"Who do you work for?" Tali asked. "Maybe we can all formulate some kind of..."

"Uh..." Davisson cut in. "If I know Stanley, his boss'll try to have us disposed of."

"Hey!" Stanley protested. "I don't always work on the bad side of the street!"

Davisson quirked a brow. "Am I wrong?"

"...No. But don't make assumptions!" Stanley added hastily.

"Well, we can't just let you walk to someone like that." Tali said firmly.

"We can't let him go tell his- eh?" Davisson's eyebrows went higher. "We're agreeing? Huh. We're agreeing."

"Did you think maybe I didn't have much sense?" Tali asked playfully.

"Uh, no, I just...nevermind. Got any suggestions, then? If I can't just shoot people, that is."

Tali nodded. "I think so. Your entanglement unit, how large a radius does it have?"

* * *

Werren's hand shook as he adjusted the output of the morphine dispenser. _No second thoughts_. He reminded himself. _Our mission is worth anything_. There was no margin for doubts. But his erratic motions had as much to do with fatigue as nerves. If he was caught, he was dead. If he messed this up, he was dead. This tiny adjustment required so much concentration that he didn't even notice Michel trying to tell him something.

The shoulder section of his exosuit compressed over his arm, and his pulse skyrocketed. Someone was right behind him, and if they figured out what he was doing...

"-Werren." Michel was saying.

"S-sorry, what?" He asked, turning around and immediately playing up the nervous assistant angle as much as he could. It wasn't hard.

"I said, you should take a break, Werren." She had to enunciate past her thick accent, but he understood nonetheless. "You're shaking worse than some of the patients."

"I...I...all r-right." He nodded. "Y-you're sure it'll be...?"

She didn't look even remotely confident; everyone was working unexpected double shifts. The next group of doctors that were supposed to be there to take over in the late afternoon hadn't arrived. She didn't know it, but they never would.

But she tried to smile anyway. "We'll be fine. Get some rest."

He walked outside, past the critical and normal patients alike, without a word. He leaned forward against the rail overlooking the rest of the city on this ward. The sight of the sprawling cityscape stabilized him somewhat; to think, soon enough all of it would be theirs. He exhaled, a long slow breath.

Unfortunately, that noise inside his suit's headpiece masked the footsteps. He didn't realize anything was wrong until a pair of strong arms wrapped around him tightly. He didn't even have time to shout.

* * *

Davisson popped into existence right in front of them, like a ghost in civvies. In his arms (at least, until he threw the captive on the ground) was a very startled and very familiar quarian.

And he was still shouting incoherently. "AHHHHHHAIKIAIAGH!"

"Oh, shut up." The soldier grumbled.

Tali gave the traitor a quick once-over for visible weapons. Of course, he still had an omni-tool, likely, and possibly some other nasty mechanical tricks in his airtight pockets. Which was why she immediately disabled all mechanical functions on him save air filtration. Now he'd have to punch his way out if he wanted to escape. Even if it was just the Colonel, she didn't like his odds. All four of them? Not a chance.

"Werren'Kar vas Borist nar Quib-Quib." She said sharply. Based on the way he moved, he was about ready to faint from seeing her there. She felt no pity. This...thing was no quarian. He was Amber Wave. A terrorist, criminal of the worst kind. She'd seen how they dealt with things first-hand. He and his friends had nothing but her scorn. "I don't have time for games, so I'll make this quick - take us to the leader of this Wave sect. _Now_."

"Wh..." He stammered. "I don't...I can't! They'll kill me for betraying them, I know the rules!"

"Kill you?" Davisson asked incredulously. "Kill you? What do you think _we're_ going to do to you?"

"He speaks truth." Tali confirmed. "Take us, and maybe I'll let you off with treason. Waste my time, and he gets to exchange a few breaths with you...without the mask."

Werren garbled something in a panic, probably 'I need my waste filtration unit back online!'. Davisson, too, was shocked. The look he was giving her told her that he knew exactly what would happen if she followed through on that threat. She was almost frightening herself. But if Amber Wave was involved, time was of the essence. If they got their way, thousands upon thousands would die. And she would not let them get away with it again.

"I...I can't! You don't understand! Th-the wave cannot be stopped!" That he was able to muster that much bravery in the face of his present situation mildly impressed Tali. Mildly.

"Well then, since we don't have a better place to be, I guess we got all day to get to know you, huh pal?" Stanley said casually. He motioned to his asari companion, who handed him a crowbar. Where she got one, Tali didn't know. And didn't ask.

"I'll kick your ass, Stanley." Davisson warned. He crouched down, placing himself face-to-mask with the frightened quarian. "Look kid. Here's how this works; These guys, they promised you something, right? Freedom, a future, safety?"

He paused, and Werren nodded slowly. "But you need to look at the facts. They can't deliver. You just got grabbed right off the street, and I guarantee they don't give a damn. No one's coming for you. I'm guessing they told you something like...'our goals at any cost'?"

Another nod, this one hesitant. "It's harsh, but you're a pawn. Think about this for a minute. You're prepared to end...how many lives? For a group of people you barely know, who couldn't care less about you? There are better things to do. Better goals to look toward. Let us help you. Because as of now, we're all you've got."

"I-I..." Werren hung his head. "Keelah, ancestors forgive me...I was supposed to report to a...a Fallor in Chora's Den later today. He...he can take you to the base of operations."

"And you can't?" Tali asked.

"I'm just an initiate." He admitted. "This was...supposed to make me a full brother to the cause."

"You'll have to come with us." Davisson said. "Make contact. Then we can follow you."

Tali picked that moment to draw him over to a secluded corner. "What are you doing, exactly? You know what they're capable of."

"Yeah, but shooting people isn't always the answer. Haven't you ever jumped into something headfirst before you knew it was way out of your league? He hasn't killed anyone yet, and he's just a kid."

There was a pause.

"I can't get mad at you for mercy, I guess." She admitted grudgingly. "I'll be right behind you."

"I'm in charge, _again_? Goddammit!" Davisson threw his arms up in exasperation.

"Calm down." Tali told him, surprised. "What do you have against leading?"

"Bad things happen when I call the shots." He said mysteriously.

"Well then I guess you can tell me you told me so if this doesn't work." She teased.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically.

"You two done plotting?" Stanley called over. "We're on a tight schedule, here."

Tali activated her omni-tool. "I'll get Jeddah on a tracking algorithm or two." She was silent for several moments, drawn into concentration with the device. "What the..."

"Something up?" Davisson asked.

"He's not responding. And his flashcode signatures are transmitting blanks, like he's been deactivated." Tali was putting a picture together, and didn't like what it was turning into.

"You don't think they...?" Davisson had apparently done the same.

"We need to go." Tali growled. As if they weren't already in enough trouble when she found them, they had taken her friend, too? Too far. "_Now_."

* * *

Gol, as was his lot most evenings, was on guard duty. He knew for certain that several other Ambers would have preferred the duty, which only made him more upset. Like so many who had joined the brotherhood, he was militant; he wanted _action_, not to stand all day watching a door that rarely opened. They were secure, anyways. No one would ever find them here.

His omni-tool alerted him to a message. _I do not fear the shadow._ Gol sighed. No one not authorized, anyway. Entry code having been sent, he slid the door open.

And found four pistols in his facemask. Before he could so much as get a word in, a steel-toed boot hit him directly in the diaphragm. Quarian suits offered a barrier against the outside world, but they weren't exactly plate. His breath came out of him all at once.

Fallor's body hit the ground next to him, and the dead eyes were the last thing he saw.

Davisson adjusted the grip on his weapon. "Wow. I remember when you needed two solid contingencies, two backup passwords, a prisoner and a nun to get into secret bases. Did these idiots start yesterday?"

"I don't think they expected anyone to even figure out they were on the Citadel." Tali said.

"Oh. That makes sense." Davisson nodded. "Nice kick, Stanley."

"Thanks, Dave."

"Don't call me Dave."

The formerly-abandoned office building they'd invaded was large by usual interior standards, so they had a lot of ground to cover. Erranya took the back, behind Werren. She still had that crowbar, which she'd used to great effect when the terrorist formerly known as Fallor had tried to escape during questioning.

However, they didn't have to look very long. The first room they got to, a cleared lounge, was occupied. Standing in the middle of a circular depiction in the stone, a tall quarian man was idly tossing some kind of small device up in the air and catching it, clearly bored and waiting.

"Ah." He stopped when they came in, and stretched his arms in greeting. "I have been wondering-"

Davisson put a bullet right between his eyes. Had he not been a holographic image, it would have killed him. "How rude." The quarian deadpanned.

"What happened to 'shooting isn't always the answer'?" Tali muttered.

"Ehh, I don't like him." Davisson shrugged.

"Admiral Tali'Zorah." The quarian addressed her formally, a manner she wasn't overly pleased with. He acted like this was a meeting, rather than an intrusion. "You are looking well."

"And you're looking stupid." She countered. "You need better guards."

He tisked. "Ah, endearingly naive as always. Much like your new friend, here." He spoke kindly to Werren. "You've done quite well, Werren. Quite well indeed."

Werren glanced worriedly at the others. "I-I..."

"It's a shame your talents are no longer of use to me."

A muzzle flash flared from a dark corner, and Werren dropped silently, a hole through his forehead. A geth juggernaut - towering three meters tall and holding a high powered sniper rifle in each hand - strode from the point or origin and faced the now-quartet.

"You hypocrite!" Tali shouted. "Your goals are annihilation of the geth!"

The quarian shook his head. "Our goals are so much more than that, Admiral. But we do not seek to destroy the geth. We seek to use them as intended; as tools, not as friends, like your model. The one in front of you, for example, has no network. No potential to become an AI. There is so much more I could show you...but you've proven to be an ever-so-small breach in my exosuit. Therefore, I am afraid you must die."

The geth lifted both arms, aiming one weapon at Tali and the other at Erranya. "Kill order double-six." The quarian said, as though getting a meal he'd ordered many times. "Initiate."

The hologram faded, and all of them were already moving. The problem was, the room had been cleared of any possible cover, and the exits had been closed while they were distracted. Davisson was already regretting not having worn his combat armor, and noticed that Tali was the only one technically wearing any. He could project a small shield from his omni-tool, but against those weapons? It would be like using fine china to hold off a nuclear blast.

And he had an omni-blade and a predator pistol. Fantastic.

Fortunately, that offered him some tactical benefits. He hit a hotkeyed sequence on his omni-tool, and glanced down. He'd turned clear - not invisible, entirely, but very hard to see. To his horror, however, the geth's flashlight head turned to follow him. It must have had thermal vision. _Well, all right._ He thought smugly. _I can deal with that._

Meanwhile, Tali skidded to a stop, multiple drones circling around her. She pulled her arc pistol and aimed her omni-tool. At once, the Widow that had been about to decapitate her stopped working with a 'click'. The geth threw both weapons down and charged. Tali didn't move an inch. She had a plan.

She really should have remembered from the Citadel core, though - her teammate had a way of disturbing plans. The three drones all fired shocks into the geth's leg joints, that part went off fine. But as it fell forward, a now-visible human crash tackled a geth one-and-a-half times his size, shouting 'Not today, asshole!'.

Then, just as suddenly as he'd appeared, he vanished. Along with everything above the juggernaut's waist. Without its critical mechanisms connected to the rest of it, the machine crumpled in a heap of parts.

Tali looked around and it didn't take long to find him. He was taking potshots at the disassembled torso. "Er." She said. "Not exactly what I had in mind, but that worked."

"Yep" He said a little too calmly. "I didn't even think it would."

"Ah..." Tali hesitated only briefly. "Can I ask why you went berserk and crash tackled a massive geth?"

"I tend to lose my cool when someone goes after a teammate." He explained.

"Holy shit." Stanley pointed at him. "Is _that_ why you ripped Nack's guts out?"

"You did _what_?" Tali shouted.

"Lies and slander." Davisson said. "His guts came out of their own accord. Although actually, considering the hole that round left in him, I'm surprised he had any left."

"Let me rephrase that." Tali said ironically. "You did _what_?"

"He tried to sell one of my friends into slavery, poisoned another, and tortured the third." Davisson said. "Nack was a scumbag. But yes, my daddy wolf issues were about seventy percent of that."

"Wh-why the hell do I screw with you?" Stanley asked himself in mild panic. "Like, ever?"

"That's what I want to know!" Davisson exclaimed.

"I-if you're done..." A small voice on the floor interrupted. Erranya was lying next to Werren, clutching a hole in her stomach the size of a fist.

"Damn it!" Davisson was already preparing a dose of medi-gel, but he could tell it wouldn't be any use.

Erranya thought so, too. "Don't...waste the...pack...I'm done...guess crime...doesn't..."

Like a light being turned off, her eyes faded and her breath stopped. It was strange; he'd hardly even known her, yet he felt a twinge when she died. It wasn't a full manic breakdown he usually felt when he couldn't save someone. But it registered. Even though she was a mook, essentially, so he should have been cold to the situation.

"My boss is gonna kick my ass." Leave it to Stanley to break the moment.

"Tali, can you crack the doors?" Davisson asked. He sounded more numb than he intended.

"I can try." She replied.

"First step," He really did dislike taking charge, but in his opinion, if you had the ammo, you might as well use it. "Find Jeddah. Then we're...out. There's nothing left for us to do here. Something tells me this guy is too savvy to leave data lying around. I'm still getting over that he played us."

"Without the kid even knowing it." Stanley glanced over at Werren.

The ground rumbled slightly, and Tali's triumphant words were cut off by a surprised 'eep', and the door she'd opened closed again. "We have a slight problem." She said.

"Bombs?" Stanley asked.

"Bombs." Tali confirmed.

"Huh." Davisson just wasn't surprised anymore. "This guy's really giving us both fingers, isn't he?"

"We need to get to Jeddah before this whole place turns into ashes." Tali said.

"We should split up." Stanley said seriously. "Cover more ground."

Davisson gave him a look. "Seriously?"

"Nah." Stanley shrugged. "I just wanna get out of here without you two on my back."

"Oh, okay." Davisson nodded. "Carry on."

Tali folded her arms. For someone without a visible face, she had great body language. Or maybe it was because of that. In this case, it was much the same look that Stanley had just received.

"What? Stan's small-time. He'll probably go steal candy from a baby or something. And he's useful. Helped us, didn't he?"

"And what if he dies?" Tali asked.

"Stanley? Nah. I know cockroaches easier to off."

"I...cock-whats?" She tilted her head.

"Earth bug, renowned for being really hard to kill."

"Uh, sorry to break up the party," Stanley said, annoyed. "But I'm still _standing right here_."

Alarms began to blare around them, alerting the building to the minor danger of exploding bombs. Davisson turned to Tali. "Tell me you have a tracking systems for your pal."

"Working on it..." She muttered, fiddling with her omni-tool settings. "Got it! We need to go down the eastern hallways."

"Can you, uh, open the side door for me?" Stanley asked, scratching his head.

Tali sighed and, with the tap of a button, the requested door opened. "I feel like a glorified evacuation service."

Her sense of urgency remained, however, and the moment their intended door opened, both she and Davisson raced through. The halls were devoid of both security and security systems, but she still felt as though she was being watched. Like an animal under a scientist's eye, seeing how well it could navigate the maze.

They passed another, smaller lounge with a scenic view of the citadel streets below them. Finally, they came upon a lab, mostly barren, save for their objective. Jeddah was still mostly intact; Tali guessed that he'd merely had a power source scrambled or deactivated. Though, she'd need to run tests to make sure.

"Grab him!" She told Davisson. Together, they hauled him back through the only exit of the lab. Something still didn't feel right...

It was only when the hall both behind and in front of them collapsed that it hit her: They were being corralled. They were back in the smaller lounge. No escape.

But Davisson's bosh'tet setting apparently didn't have an 'off' switch.

"Help me over here!" He said, dragging the deactivated geth towards the window. Tali fell into step for about five paces before she figured out his plan.

"What?!" She shouted. "No!"

"What did you make him out of, glass?" He asked. "He'll be fine!"

"I'm a little more worried about us!" The drop was more than twenty meters. "I didn't exactly pack grappling hooks!"

"Tali!" He gripped her shoulder firmly and stared her straight in the...mask. "Do you trust me?"

Part of her wanted to scream 'No, not really!', but she didn't have a lot of options. And...maybe it wasn't trust, exactly, but she knew he had to have a plan. She did the most dangerous possible thing. She nodded.

Then he tossed Jeddah out a window. All at once, this seemed horrendously stupid. But she didn't really like the idea of burning to death, so there she was.

Davisson kept his omni-tool on standby and wrapped his arms around her. If the situation hadn't been life-threatening, she might have paid more attention to how surprisingly gentle his grip was. She'd expected...roughness, maybe? Not that kind of care, at least.

To her surprise, he didn't jump. He backed to the edge of the drop, looked over his shoulder, and muttered something. It sounded like 'Look, I know you hate me, but do me a solid, huh?'. _Oh,_ she realized. _He's asking his ancestors to protect him. I didn't know humans did that._

After that day, she'd always remember how strange teleporting was. She'd expected some sort of feeling. A tug, maybe, or a pressure change. Instead, one moment they were inside a burning lounge, the next they were on the street below.

Davisson's omni-tool shot sparks on his arm and he flinched. "I'm guessing that means I should let the device take a nap."

"Nice work." She said simply.

He raised an eyebrow. "It's just a quantum..."

"Not that. Everything you just did. I..." She stopped; she was starting to sound grudging, but that wasn't what she meant at all. "I'd be dead if you hadn't been there."

"If I hadn't been there, you wouldn't have gotten in there at all." He corrected her.

"And Amber Wave would have free reign over Dr. Michel's..." She gave a start. "The patients!"

Davisson glanced at the geth nearby. "No rest for the wicked, huh?"

Tali put one mechanical arm over her shoulder. "Come on!"

* * *

It took some convincing to get the turian taxi driver to let them aboard. Apparently he didn't like the idea of having a geth inside his vehicle. But he changed his mind when Davisson offered to triple the normal wage.

"Where to?" He asked.

"Dr. Michel's clinic." Tali said.

The driver glanced over his shoulder at Jeddah. "Uh, I don't think she does..."

"The random unconscious geth is unrelated." Davisson said.

"Okay." The driver got them in the air. "It's your credits."

He set them down near their own shuttle, and he was happy to fly off with few words after he was paid. Tali put Jeddah in their passenger's seat (Davisson volunteered to stay and watch him this time) while Tali ran in, hoping she wasn't too late.

But the waiting area was empty, save for one individual.

Michel's eyes were puffed and red, and she looked much the opposite from her stoic manner earlier. Tali's heart dropped. Whatever plan Amber Wave had put into place...

Michel looked up, a fresh tear dropping to the floor. "Gone." She said throatily. "All of them."

"Chloe," Tali said. "It wasn't your fault-"

"How could it not be?" Her tone implied a pained shout, but she didn't appear to have the energy to muster more than a whisper.

"It was a terrorist group." Tali explained, stepping forward. "Amber Wave."

Michel looked confused. "What..why would a terrorist group target the clinic?"

"I..." Tali faltered. Why did a terrorist do anything? To satisfy their agenda, maybe? It seemed so stupid, and pointless, and like nothing she'd dealt with. Almost nothing. "They wanted to shut you down."

"Why me?"

"Because...because you represent what they can't stand." At first, words were hard to come by. But once she began, they kept pouring out, almost of their own accord. Was this how Shepard felt, giving speeches? "You give people hope, Chloe. You're a light for them. And evil can't stand real good being done."

"Evil." Michel mused. "I used to not know what that meant. Now...it's just there. Part of my life."

"What makes you different from other people is that you fight it." Tali continued, wrapping Michel in a comforting embrace. "And that makes all the difference."

* * *

Their elevator ride was made in silence. Jeddah was lying between them, and the events of the day had left them worn past needing to talk to each other. When the elevator opened to the dock, though, life just couldn't leave well enough alone.

Renar was standing there, with a hooded man neither of them recognized. He looked bruised and weary, like he'd just fistfought a krogan. He looked them up and down, then saw Jeddah.

"You too?" He asked simply.

"Yeah." Davisson said. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

Renar sighed. "Well..."

* * *

"Boss?" Stanley inquired of the dark room.

A light flickered nearby, and a screen lit up with data bits. But this was usual. No one saw his face. He was just as much an enigma as that data. The altered voice came in through a hidden comm. "Stanley. I trust you were successful?"

"Yeah." Stanley let out a breath. "Lost Erranya, though."

"Acceptable." Stanley winced at that. "Were there any difficulties?"

Even with the voice mixer, his tone was unmistakable, and a chill went up Stanley's spine. He knew. Lying wouldn't do any good here.

"Yeah..." He admitted. "Somebody I used to know came by, helped out."

"Yes...Davisson."

There was silence for a long, drawn-out cluster of seconds.

"You have had dealings with him before." It wasn't a question, or an accusation. It was a statement. It just was.

Stanley gulped. "Y-yeah, boss. Couple of times. But he went off the grid, I had no idea..."

"He is too dangerous an individual to have so close to me." It almost sounded like the voice was thinking something over. "Even separated as such. Dangerous indeed."

"You...you want me to call a hit in on him, boss?" Stanley asked. "'Cuz that could be bad."

"That will not be necessary." Now he sounded amused. "You have done well, Stanley."

Stanley exhaled softly.

"But you have ceased to be of use to me."

A red dot appeared on Stanley's forehead, and all the blood rushed out of his face. "B-but...Wh...Mr. Corona, what'd I..."

A laser split his head apart like a melon.

"I will find this Davisson and his associates myself." Corona told the body. "It is just business."

A white body stepped from the shadows, looking at first like a ghost, then a mech. It was tall, thin, bristling with armaments. The laser clicked off and it drew a grenade launcher, synthetic fingertips twitching in anticipation.

"And it will give me an opportunity to test my newest toy."


	20. Chapter 20: Hunting

_"Poetry can solve a lot of problems, not the least of which being the screams of whichever idiot you may happen to be mauling at the time."_

* * *

**Renar|Bob**

* * *

It wasn't having the new best friend that shook Renar so badly. In point of fact, he generally enjoyed having new friends. It wasn't as though he got the opportunity very often. He tended to speak softly and carry a big rock (was that the right phrase?), and most people avoided him. Especially other turians. Always the turians.

No, what really bothered him was how very strange this man was. Aside from the fact that Renar might never get over the blue glowing augmentations visible in his face, his entire manner was simply odd. While this Crazz had proven himself capable in a fight, he seemed like he'd rather be back in the bar. Like this was a necessary distraction. Something he had to do.

Renar had always heard stories of warrior-poets...soldiers who sought to fight for life rather than fortune. Softer souls, who could see the beauty in anything, but would go to war if they had to. He felt like he'd met one in person, somehow, but...it was nothing like he'd expected.

And once again, he found himself walking without really knowing where he was going. This time though, instead of following his feet, he was following some sort of poetic demi-husk abomination. By way of association, Renar swore he'd never drink again.

"Who is this Gadschalk you're looking for?" Renar asked. He was genuinely curious, and felt he may as well pass the time.

"Professor R. C. Gadschalk is the scum of several earths." Bob explained. His hood had been pulled up when they left, but apparently his haunting eyes were still visible, because he spooked a passing salarian merely by looking at him. "He runs a few illicit substance producers both on the Citadel and in the Traverse. But he's involved in everything classified as a crime in some way or another. Arson, murder, jaywalking - you name it, he's done it or has people doing it. They say he's impossible to find personally."

"Not to you, obviously."

"I just know a little more than the average man." Bob said noncommittally.

"Why did you go after that salarian?"

Bob shrugged. "Because I knew him. The people I used to work for tracked out a few likely areas and people, and now I have another piece of the puzzle."

"So...we're going to look for more clues?"

"Yes. Aysim back there is just a thug, but I'll believe that he knows someone who knows someone. If they're involved, I know where to look for more information."

"That reminds me..." He stopped and pulled his omni-tool, then cleared his throat. "Hello? Hello! There's been a fight...some salarian just went berserk and attacked someone! The Lower Wards, near Chora's. Please, hurry!"

"What...was that?" Renar asked, bewildered.

"C-Sec." Bob explained. "I dusted my gloves with red sand before I went in there, so any cursory investigation is going to result in Aysim's being jailed." They continued walking until Renar built up the courage to continue with his questions.

"You...mentioned who you used to work for?" Renar said hesitantly.

"Yes." Bob didn't seem particularly disconcerted by the inquiry. "Up until a few days ago, Cerberus had my leash. Hah. If you know your mythology, that's fairly ironic."

Renar stopped dead. Involuntarily, his hands clenched. His talons started to dig into his skin. "Cerberus?"

Bob spun on a heel. "You did ask." He pointed out. "Maybe you forgot the past tense? I couldn't stand them any longer, so I quit. Now I'm cleaning up their messes. I don't know much, but what I do, I'll use. And since I feel we'd both like to see Gadschalk, am I wrong to assume that we've got the same interests?"

"Point taken." Renar acquiesced softly. "But I'll be watching you."

He could swear that Bob's smile under that hood was audible. "You weren't before? For shame."

It was a relatively short trip to the markets, and no one bothered them en route. That being the case, Renar still couldn't shake the thought that he was being watched. Then again, maybe that was just Bob.

The Bob in question made for one open stall in particular. The salarian businessman behind it looked almost terminally cheerful. So much so in fact that he wasn't fazed in the least when Bob lowered his hood. But Crazz kept it cordial, for some reason.

"Ah, welcome to Morlan's famous shop! You want many good supplies, yes?"

"'Fraid not, my friend. Though I could use some information." Bob passed a credit chit forward. "Do you know where I can find one of Gadschalk's closer contacts?"

Morlan nodded eagerly. "Yes, of course! One of them patrols Flux around this time. Batarian, red shirt, terrible disposition."

"All right, thanks." Bob started to move off.

"Wait." Renar held his hands up. "That...is that all?"

Bob raised his eyebrows. Or, the lights over his eyebrow muscles where his eyebrows used to be. "Well, yes. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Shouldn't there be more cloak and dagger? Threatening, denial, a long conversation?" Renar asked confusedly. "He's a criminal."

Morlan and Bob exchanged looks of surprise. "Well I don't particularly want to threaten him." Bob said. "Do you want to be threatened, Morlan?"

Morlan shook his head. "That doesn't sound like a deal worth taking."

"That, and he's not a criminal, he just stores messages. Come on, kid." Bob waved him to follow. "Trust me, I have enough difficulties in my life. I don't really need to actively make more enemies. Do you?"

Renar felt vaguely annoyed that Crazz had made that point, but by the same credit couldn't think of a confrontational response that wasn't foolish. He contented himself with what came naturally; falling into step.

Flux was, on the whole, a much gentler establishment than Chora's Den. It was larger, for one thing. The music wasn't as aggressive. And Renar didn't feel like everyone was waiting to shoot him. Bob saw their target first - a batarian in red, just as described. They took seats on either side of him.

Apparently, he had better-than-average senses, because he immediately started to get up. Bob grabbed his shoulder tightly and forced him back down. "Really?" He asked. "We haven't even started talking yet and you already want to leave?"

"Who the hell are you?" The batarian growled. "And what do you want?"

"I think I can answer all of your questions with 'Gadschalk'." Bob said.

Renar had known that mammalian races had visible pigmentation responses caused by changes in blood flow during a fight or flight response, but he'd never really seen the reaction up close. On a batarian with brown skin, turning ship hallway white was comical.

"L-look, I don't..."

Bob adjusted his grip to wrap his arm around the batarian and grasp his other shoulder. From the outside, it looked like casual contact between drinking buddies. But Crazz placed his right fist over his prisoner's lower back hip. "You know," He whispered. "The tension in an omni-blade can sever steel from drawing if the edge is coated in plasma."

It didn't seem possible for the batarian to look even more frightened, but he did. "Y-you can't do that. This place is filled with witnesses."

"And I can disappear like runoff into a stream before your halves fall out of this seat." Bob shrugged. "It's fairly simple. We just need his contacts."

"What makes you think I know that?" The batarian hissed.

"You don't." Bob said. "But you can lead us on a line. The food chain has a lot of links, but you can find a shark even if you start with plankton."

The batarian stared blankly. "You can do what if you find what and what?"

"Interplanetary barriers. Go figure." Bob sighed. "My point is, help us help you."

"You think I'm stupid?" The batarian growled. "I'm not suicidal."

"Then you shouldn't have taken this job." Renar pointed out.

"It seems to me like your issue is immediacy." Bob told him. "Whether you'd like to pay now or later. If you choose later, you might not have to pay at all. Your only real problem here is being...mm...what's the word?"

"An ass?" Renar supplied.

Bob nodded. "Exactly. This is your best option. If we fail, you can play it off, say we tortured you or something like that. Technically, you win either way. Remind me why you're stalling?"

"Gragh." The batarian grumbled. "Fine. If it'll get you to stop bothering me. I don't know the higher-ups, but I do know a weapons contractor. Black market. One of 'Schalk's top lieutenants."

"Where do we find him?" Renar asked.

"Alley twenty-four, tonight. They're helping some independents prepare for a drug bust. C-Sec's expecting routine. Hmph."

"Looks like two sparrows get to die, then." Bob said. "Come on, kid. Adventure doesn't wait for any man."

"Wait..." The batarian asked once they'd gotten up. "What's to stop me from warning Gadschalk about you?"

Bob smiled softly underneath his hood. "Well if he finds out about us, we'll know who to come to. Enjoy that though. And your drink."

He didn't see the hallucinogen that Bob had slipped into said drink. It only took a quick call to the local mental institution from the bartender to solve that problem.

* * *

Finding alley twenty-four wasn't difficult. Or time consuming, really. It was on the common database. But it was quite a hike, and they couldn't risk taking a transport shuttle too close. Fortunately, this gave them time to think. Unfortunately, it also gave them time to talk.

"I have some more questions for you." Renar said.

Bob resisted the urge to sigh. "Well I'm no Avina, but I can probably answer one or two."

"What does Gadschalk want with me?"

"You've probably already figured that one out. But I'll humor you with the full story even though it's just a theory. Aysim, back in Chora's Den, he called you by your surname. Bavarian or something?" Renar stiffened. "My guess is, you're connected to someone powerful. And, well, sometimes Gadschalk can't resist a kidnap if it's so easy."

"And did you know?"

Bob shook his head. "About you? No. But I'd been following him discreetly. To see if something would happen. Luckily he didn't recognize me without my shiny, noticeable armor of terror. And something did happen."

"To my chagrin." Renar noted.

Bob chuckled. "Don't worry, kid. You'll be safer when the night is over. Ask that our way be long, at many a summer dawn to enter."

Renar fixed him with a sidelong glance. His tone had shifted. Subtly, but it was there. "That last...was that a poem, like the one near Chora's Den?"

Bob nodded. "You know more than I thought. Ithaca, by Cavafy."

"What's it about?"

Bob grinned crookedly at him. "Well, there are a lot of ways to interpret poetry. For me, it says a lot about the journey. To set out for what you see, not what you find. Goals are well and good, but if you rush? Well, you might've stayed at home."

"I could swear there's another human version of that." Renar said, pensive.

"Well, 'stop and smell the roses' is more laconic. But it lacks that certain" Bob waved his hand. "...elegance. Any other questions?"

"Who are you, Bob?"

Bob sighed again. "You love asking complicated questions, don't you? No, don't answer. I could tell you a lot of things. I could spin a story, maybe, or bore you to tears. But the truth...that might be a little much. For now, anyways. Who do you think I am, Mr. Bavarian?"

"I..." Renar didn't quite know how to respond to that. He thought back to everything he knew about this strange ex-Cerberus hunter. Feeling quite foolish in the case that he was wrong, he began to voice his train of thought. "The way you talk about the journey...it's like you spend a lot of time on it. You're here because it's a part of your old life. Maybe the only thing you can think of doing. You say you don't like to unnecessarily get into trouble, but you're taking on one of the worst criminals in the Citadel, supposedly. You have a pleasant conversation one minute, and threaten the next."

Bob nodded slowly, as if thinking himself. "And?"

"So...I think you're lost, Bob. In a lot of ways. You wander because you feel like it's what you do, but not being told to do anything is...new. You don't really have an agenda."

"Think I'm rigid, hm?"

"It's easier for a drone to see another drone trying too hard to be a free spirit." Renar stopped himself there; he felt as though he'd gone too far. And this was a very slippery slope to be on.

"Well, that's...interesting." Crazz's face had been once again obscured by the hood, but he didn't sound particularly like he wanted to start ripping Renar's plates off. Yet. "I don't think I've heard that one before."

"Am I right?" _Damn it,_ Renar told himself. _Shut up already._

"Ah, look, Lady Luck and Arl Avoidance are smiling at me." Bob pointed forward. A group of people appeared to be having a quiet conversation, surrounded by suspicious boxes. Renar checked his omni-tool and, sure enough, alley twenty-four was dead ahead. "Let's go say hello."

Renar kept at least partly to the shadows, but Bob didn't seem all that concerned with blithely strolling into their illegal negotiations. Then again, someone who could dodge bullets didn't have cause to be afraid of much. Almost immediately, all conversation stopped, and everyone stared at the hooded man. Several weapons we gripped tightly, waiting for a hostile move to be made.

"Who the hell are you?" One of them asked.

Bob's response was to lower his hood. Every last one of them stepped back. Renar even thought he could hear one whimper pathetically. "Hello, everyone." Bob paid most of his attention to the group on the right - rather than crates, they had patchwork armor and only a few pistols, but one of them was clutching a credit chit tightly. The buyers, he assumed. "I think it's a lovely day to be somewhere else, don't you?"

"F-fuck off!" One of the buyers fired his pistol at Bob. He casually leaned just enough out of the way that the shot missed entirely. The young human dropped the pistol and turned tail. His companions followed. All in all, the sellers appeared to be of sterner stuff. They were heavily armed, there were five of them, and they now looked annoyed rather than frightened.

"Blatantly disrespectful: Is there a reason you are scaring off our customers, human?" Their leader, an elcor, oddly enough, asked. One of his goons muttered 'that thing ain't human', but went unnoticed.

"I'll be out of your...well, none of you have hair, so, scalps! In a moment." Bob said cheerfully. "Right now, I'm looking for Gadschalk."

Deafening silence.

"Condescending:" The elcor recovered first. "You are both stupid and, soon, dead."

His minions drew and fired, but Bob was faster by far. He ducked down and forward, reaching into his trenchcoat and pulling out two pistols. His feet shifted on the ground. Both muzzles flashed as he kneecapped two turians to either side. One of them fell forward not entirely of his own violition, taking a full blast to the head from one of his compatriots. The other collapsed with a howl. He didn't realize until too late that something was wrong; his mouth opened just wide enough for him to stumble onto swallowing the barrel of his own weapon, which Bob had snapped upright in the same movement.

Bob tossed one pistol into the air and wrapped a single finger around the trigger. More brain matter collected on the floor. One of his legs lashed out and tripped the salarian who was still firing wildly at him. The shots went wide and he cracked his skull on the ground. Bob completed his spin, still crouched, and pressed his second pistol against the stunned criminal's temple.

One left.

But the one had a shotgun, and was already taking aim. Renar was trying to piece together why Crazz would let himself get into such a vulnerable position.

_Wait...he's waiting on me._

_Shit!_

He did the first thing that came to him naturally - eliminate. His hand reached out and thrust upward. His target followed the movement, rising ten meters before slamming back down with enough force to dent steel.

"...Huh." Bob eyed the broken form dispassionately. "I thought you'd just shoot him."

The elcor, now that he was covered in the blood and chunks of his former compatriots, was strangely much more cooperative. "Terrified: Do not kill me, I will give you whatever you want." It was morbidly amusing to hear someone that couldn't manage anything except monotone begging for their life. It sounded like he couldn't care less.

"You know what I want." Bob said simply. "Take me to Gadschalk."

"Confused: That is not possible."

"Why not?" Renar asked. "Aren't you his lieutenant?"

"Annoyed:" The elcor corrected. "I work for his lieutenant."

"Well, we certainly have a lot of trails." Bob remarked.

"Where is the lieutenant?" Renar narrowed his eyes for emphasis.

"Nervously: Citadel Security headquarters." He told them.

"He's arrested?" Bob mused. "Well, that makes our job easier..."

"Shortly:" The elcor amended. "He is not there as a felon, that is his side job."

"You work criminal operations for a dirty cop?!" Renar asked, incensed.

"Which one?" Bob inquired, apathetic.

"Reluctantly: Jelanis. War-" He was cut off by a quick jab to the face from Bob.

Awkwardness ensued when the elcor didn't keel over.

Fortunately, his shock lasted long enough for another fist to connect. But it still didn't put him down.

Bob put his hands on his hips. "Now you're just being difficult."

The elcor grunted and surged forward, attempting to headbutt Crazz before he could land any more hits. But he was slow and clumsy, and a well-placed shot with a good kick sent him flat on his face. He didn't stir again.

"I was going to say something vaguely impressive, but what would be the point?" Bob sighed. "Come on, it looks like we have even more work to do."

* * *

"Remind me again why you can't help?"

Renar and Bob, after having found the nearest transport shuttle to the alley, had made immediately for C-Sec headquarters in the Presidium. It was unlikely that whoever this Jelanis was had been alerted yet, but they still preferred to be on their guard. Which was why Renar was so confused as to why Bob adamantly refused to back him up.

"Really?" Bob moved his hands in circles around his face. "You think I'm that inconspicuous? Look, just find a way to get him out of the offices. I'll be tracking you for help at a moment's notice, you'll be fine."

"All right, all right." Renar conceded. "What should I do about the elcor?"

"I already called in an anonymous tip." Bob assured him. "The situation won't look good for them. Or him, if anyone makes a connection."

"Maybe I can just bribe him." Renar growled.

"Mm, you don't look criminal enough for him to believe that." Bob clapped him on the shoulder. "Walk softly."

He faded into a nearby corner, leaving Renar alone. Still mentally reciting prophecies of doom, he slipped into the main elevator. It slowly descended into C-Sec's atrium, as it was. Various officers milled around, whether bringing in suspects, hanging about with nothing to do, or in a hurry to file some paperwork. Despite the apparent chaos, Renar noticed that all of it had a general underlying conformity to it. Like a program running random strings from a predictable algorithm.

_Did I just use a technical analogy?_ Renar wondered dully. _Spirits, I need help._

The doors slid open, and he stepped out. He suddenly felt very foolish and conspicuous, but no one seemed to notice. He got an odd look from a nearby krogan officer, but other than that, his only real problem was that he was lost. An elevator lead up to a dock, and a few exits behind and around that lead to offices and the supply room. That he knew.

What he didn't know was what he was supposed to look for or how to go about it. He almost began to wish he could ask someone for...

"Excuse me..." He began, stepping up to the krogan.

"Yeah, something I can do for you, uh...citizen?" The officer arched an eyeridge.

Still feeling like an idiot, Renar decided that asking couldn't make him feel _worse_. "Does an officer Jelanis work here?"

The krogan nodded. "Madak Jelanis, that's me."

Scratch that. It could _definitely_ make him feel worse. "Well, good. I'd like to...report a crime." He imagined his fringe was lighting up like a mass relay.

Jelanis frowned. "You want to report a crime...to me, specifically?"

Renar's mind raced with all of the things he could say to get him out of suspicion. Punching the criminal out now looked appealing. But somehow he didn't think he could explain himself out of it _afterwards_. "Yes. That is, it's just a little something I need...taken care of."

Jelanis' frown turned into a scowl, and Renar prayed his ploy had worked.

"And what makes you think I'd know anything about that?" He asked. "I should report you."

"I don't think out mutual friends would like that." It was a little hasty, but Renar would rather look like someone new than a mole. It was all he could do to keep his calm anyway. "Think of it as an opportunity from our...employer."

Jelanis grunted. "Humor me, then. Who is this employer?"

"Say his name, here?" Renar countered. "I'm not as dumb as you think."

The krogan visibly relaxed, if slightly. "That remains to be seen. Come with me."

Jelanis waved Renar for emphasis and pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against. They passed a few officers and eventually clambered into the elevator that lead to the lower wards.

The instant the doors closed, Jelanis started talking. "You idiot. Contacting me inside C-Sec? Don't they teach you rookies anything?"

"Not every situation allows for subtlety." Renar told him. "I had to find you right away."

"Don't get smart with me." Jelanis warned. "Nothing's important enough to risk blowing my cover."

There was a moment of silence in which the elevator ascended and Jelanis glowered.

Finally, he muttered, "What did you want, anyways?"

"That's easy, 'officer'." Renar said, voice heavy with irony. He would have finished with a line of questioning, but their door opened. There stood Bob, pistols already drawn. He aimed both of them at Jelanis' head.

Renar wanted dearly to know how Bob had gotten to this area so quickly, but that question could wait. He ducked under the arm Jelanis threw out to clothesline him into submission and rolled to the side as much as the elevator allowed. He didn't relish the thought of being stuck in close quarters with a krogan, especially if he decided to get hit enough to blood rage.

Bob opened fire, splattering the wall at the far end of their transportation with orange blood. As typical for his species, Jelanis was unfazed. He was also, unfortunately, armed. He drew a shotgun and opened fire. Even Bob couldn't dodge so many shots at once, so he dropped prone. Jelanis made the mistake of charging, so Bob merely pushed himself forward and between the krogan's legs.

Renar threw a shockwave forward, assisting his opponent's propulsion. Between his own momentum and getting hit in the back with biotic force, there was nothing he could do to avoid being thrown flat on his face. A carefully-placed shot from Bob blew the shotgun out of range of an easy pickup.

Jelanis rolled over and activated him omni-tool. A ball of fire raced from its tip and struck Bob as he was turning around. It began to singe his trenchcoat, so he removed it, hood and all. Renar realized that he hadn't actually seen what was underneath, but now knew what Bob meant by 'shiny, noticeable armor of terror'. It looked like a suit of repurposed Cerberus light plate, the colors faded somewhat and adjusted with blue runes on the sides and arms. The symbol of the organization had been painted over with black and red paint in the form of a flaming bird of some kind.

Bob looked at the downed krogan, and Jelanis hesitated. That gave him just enough time to step forward and warp the air around him with a biotic field. Eezo shot away from him and propelled itself forward, hitting Jelanis like a battering ram. His hand connected next, and when momentum settled itself down, he had that hand wrapped around the krogan's throat, pinning him to a wall.

Jelanis growled and headbutted him. It didn't seem to faze Crazz much, but that was just the warmup. An omni-blade buried itself deep into Bob's side, loosening his grip. The krogan headbutted him again, driving him to the ground. Then he charged Renar, disrupting the concentration required for another biotic strike with a well-placed punch. It hurt, too; Renar felt like his faceplates had been broken off.

Based on his expression, Renar hazarded a guess that the krogan was quite enjoying this. He thought a racist comment (saying it aloud would have wasted breath) and rolled to the side to avoid being impaled by an orange blade. His danger came from an unwillingness in Jelanis to pull any punches despite how much fun he was having. Renar would have to move quickly.

He continued rolling, but stopped suddenly. His head moved forward a bit more than his body, and he became aware of someone gripping the back of his outfit. Struggling like prey in a trap, he pushed himself off the ground with a hand and threw a bolt of biotic force into the impact point. It tore him out of Jelanis' grip and allowed him to dodge the follow-up omni-blade strike. But it also caused him to crash ungracefully a few meters away.

He felt more than heard the quickly approaching footsteps. A foot held him in place before he could move again, and he felt his spine bend. He just had to hope that he could wiggle enough to avoid losing a major organ. He braced himself for the stab...

He turned his head to see above him. The blade was already in motion. But something knocked it off-course, and it dug into the ground next to his head. He only heard the gunshot afterwards. Then he felt hot orange blood splatter over the side of his face. And a slam as the body of a krogan hit the ground next to him.

Renar took a moment to catch his breath. He'd just come absurdly close to death, only to be saved by...what? He turned around; Bob was still lying down a ways away. He caught a glimpse of someone running in the platform above him, but then they disappeared. It might have been anyone. _Check that,_ He thought, examining the hole through Jelanis' brain. _Anyone very skilled._

His heart skipped a beat - Bob. He'd forgotten about the human, but that wound hadn't looked good. He moved (well, limped) to his side and checked for a pulse. A hand grabbed his wrist and used it as leverage. Bob pulled himself up slowly, but with surety.

Renar exhaled. "I thought maybe your journey was over."

"Plenty left to go." Bob assured him. "I can't exactly say it tickled, but..." He saw Jelanis, and growled. "Damn it all. He was our only lead."

"I don't know who killed him." Renar said semi-defensively. "Do you have any better ideas?"

"No." Bob slumped a bit.

"Then why did you confront him?"

Bob waved his hand at the lower level they were in. "If I hadn't he would have tried to kill you. This is his murdering ground. Bodies of potential rats have been popping up here for a while. Caused me no small amount of consternation."

"Oh." Renar was starting to wish he'd stop getting into situations in which feeling like a moron was remotely possible. "Well...what now?"

"I don't know." Bob sighed. "More time...a lot more time. Maybe I'll find something, maybe I won't. It's not like I have anything else to do."

An idea formed in Renar's mind. He didn't necessarily like it, but it was worth a try. "Come with me."

"What?"

"The ship I serve on...we handle things like this. Crises. If finding Gadschalk is infeasible, find someone else. You don't have to stay along this one road, Bob. You don't have to be lost."

Bob raised his eyebrows. Eyebrow muscles. Whatever. "You could be a poet yourself, some day. Giving up Gadschalk...maybe. Maybe. Show me this ship, kid. We'll see."

* * *

"Wow." Davisson commented. "Not bad for one outing."

Renar nodded. He'd left out Bob's affiliations in the retelling - he'd tell them about it when he wanted to - but the rest was free game. The other two didn't seem to have any ideas. Based on what they'd said, they had problems of their own. He was about to offer up some ideas when, for the third time, the elevator door opened.

It was the salarian doctor, Solus, and his krogan friend. He'd come off his fight with a bit of an adversity for krogan, but this one was wearing a flowery wide-brimmed hat. Solus himself had a fancy black suit.

"Not a word." Deshayla growled.

"Screw _that_." Davisson said. "Spill it!"


	21. Chapter 21: Not Savvy Enough

_"I'm good with machines, but people? I don't get people."_

* * *

**Deshayla|Kerrin**

* * *

Rationally, it took a significant amount of time for either of them to realize what was happening. Everyone else around them was either staring blankly at the young bomber or still barely in the throes of the fading conversations, and shock was just starting to wear off. But experience from similar previous situations kept them both alive.

"Cover." Kerrin murmured. Deshayla was already moving, leading the way behind the line of clothes they were standing in front of. Fortunately, the large amount of sudden commotion covered their movements. It was no metal barrier or synthetic wall, but it would do.

Once they were safely out of sight, Kerrin concentrated on isolating certain information his senses were in the process of comprehending. There were footsteps - numerous footsteps - and the traditional incomprehensible shouting. But there was something else, as well. Heavier footfalls, originating from the entrance to the store. Weapons fire, from a heavy pistol of some kind. Phalanx?

"All right, listen up!" A rough voice called out. The shoppers began to quiet down. Not all at once, but with slightly startling brevity. Kerrin had some difficulty with placing a species to the voice. Most certainly not a softer-toned one, nor emotionless, like an elcor. But that still left krogan, batarian, turian, human, bass vorcha (unlikely, of course), quarian and yahg. Hah! He thought, suddenly amused. Imagine. A yahg on the Citadel.

"This piece of dirt here is smart as my boot, but he doesn't shit around." The voice continued. "And if the explosion doesn't kill you, I'll shoot your asses."

A click resounded throughout the building, but not the arming of a weapon. That was different. This sounded more like a forced lockdown. "As of right now, this is _my_ world."

"What do you want?!" A woman shouting. A weapon discharged, and then screams of terror. Kerrin's blood went cold, and he heard the soft thump of a body hitting the floor.

"See her?" The terrorist asked. "She's doing a great job of staying down and keeping quiet. Everyone else, be like her. Because I got plenty more bullets."

The eyes of krogan and salarian met, and their feelings were, at a rare moment, mutual.

Kerrin turned and examined his surroundings. There were a few choice mirrors along the walls, but none with a particularly good vantage point to where he suspected the assailant was. Perhaps it was intentional. More likely, however, it was circumstance. There had to be at least one place he was visible from. In the meantime, they would need to selectively eliminate a few thugs.

As if on cue with his thoughts, in a nearby mirror he saw a lackey murmur something to another and hand over his weapon. His ally shook his head in exasperation but motioned down a hall just a ways away and across from Kerrin's position. A jolt went through him with another thought. He knew the locations of certain areas? They must have performed some amount of reconnaissance. This had been planned. But why?

Unbidden when he saw exactly where the thug was going, a thought appeared in Kerrin's mind. Be subtly altered it for his own amusement. _Blast it, child, I told you to go before we left the house!_

It did, however, allow him a golden opportunity to dispose of one assailant, and perhaps even an investigator sometime later. But he would need a guard and a distraction. Fortunately, he had both.

He tapped on Deshayla's shoulder and handed her a remote communication device. She plugged it into an ear and nodded. "I need you to distract them while I enter the facilities." He whispered. She looked at him like he was insane and he realized how that must have sounded, but didn't explain. He moved between the clothing racks that offered sufficient cover until he arrived at the beginning of an open area. If he attempted to enter the male disposal units now, he would absolutely be seen.

He heard something shatter on a far wall. Several criminals rushed over to the source, and everyone else turned to look. Kerrin didn't waste a moment. Like a flash, he was inside the location of his objective. He was already running late - he could hear flushing and the zipping of someone getting back into uniform. He readied a syringe filled with a nontoxic knockout serum of his own design (he kept several on his person at all times, of course, and this situation was a perfect example of why) and stood next to the exit.

Within seconds the guard stepped out of a stall and up to the door. He wasn't paying attention, merely looking downward and adjusting his gloves. Kerrin calmly thrust the needle tip into his neck and emptied the contents with one practiced motion.

As the guard slumped forward noiselessly, Kerrin found the need to say something clever, so he naturally made the first remark that came to mind. "You didn't wash your hands." He told the unconscious man, his tone disappointed.

A problem of his current situation soon became apparent; If he were to leave this room, he would be noticed. Fortunately, to this part he had thought ahead. "Deshayla." He whispered into his end of their communications unit. "Are you able to force them to turn again, and then hide?"

"I'm not much for hiding." She grumbled.

An idea sprung fully formed into his mind. "Restyle a thin barrier to the entire color spectrum, with a slight emphasis on marble. Just your skin."

"You'd better not be suggesting what I think you're suggesting."

"I have faith in your comprehension abilities such that what you think I am suggesting is exactly what I am suggesting." He nodded, despite knowing full well that she couldn't actually see him.

"But-"

"Good luck!" He told her cheerfully, then disconnected. He waited exactly thirty-seven seconds, and opened the door. Just as planned, everyone was looking away from him once again. He ducked behind a clothes rack and stealthily proceeded back towards their original hiding spot.

However, he wasn't the only one there. Two of the five armed individuals he'd counted earlier were stalking in front of him, rifles raised. "Well?" He heard someone ask out of sight.

One of them shook their heads. "Nothing."

"Told you." The other muttered.

"Goddamn it." Their leader sighed. "Someone go get number three and tell him to either get out here or shove his bladder up his ass."

Footsteps began to fade out of Kerrin's hearing range, but neither man in front of him moved away. Once again part of the plan. He waited...

"Gah!" Someone yelled and cursed from the vicinity of the restroom. "Man down!"

That was all the third distraction he needed. Standing up, he injected the two terrorists within arm's reach, then pulled them back. The small sounds these movements made were covered up by the leader's line of questioning.

"The hell do you mean, 'man down'? Secure the perimeter, two and f-" There was a pause. "Two! Four! Where are you?"

Meanwhile, Kerrin was stashing the bodies underneath choice clothing racks, then hiding himself. Someone in heavy armor turned the corner and looked around. To Kerrin's chagrin, his neck was covered.

"Anything?" The one who'd found number three asked nervously.

"Nothing." The leader spat, striding off again. Behind him was only a krogan mannequin displaying civilian clothing and a wide-rimmed, flowery hat. It rolled its eyes at him, and he grinned.

"What's going on here?" The leader (whom Kerrin now assumed was called 'One') shouted. He heard the hard impact of a reinforced glove against flesh, then startled gasps and a groan of pain. "As if your sticky little hands aren't enough, what's your security system? TELL ME!"

"P-please..." Kerrin heard a soft, flanging voice reply. "I don't...know...what you're talking about."

"Bullshit!" Another blow. This time it elicited a full cry of pain. Kerrin internally analyzed what little he could hear. From the blow itself: multiple cracked, broken ribs, possible internal trauma. From vocal stress patterns: Definitely a lie, but what about? From direct vocals: Turian, female, one-hundred and eighty eight centimeters in height, young adult.

He slipped a pistol from the holster of one of the assailants near him and held it up on the side of the clothes rack One wasn't on. It caught Deshayla's eye and she nodded slightly. He tossed it to her. She caught it flawlessly and locked eyes with him, waiting. This was an excellent moment to have a companion with the same intellectual capacity, he thought. He held up a total of five fingers, then motioned to her pistol and pantomimed holding a rifle.

Deshayla nodded again. Kerrin held up his hand and accessed his omni-tool while the sounds of the beating (and several whimpers, perhaps sobbing from the captives) continued. He didn't have much time. Quietly, he released a directed neurotoxin keyed to human DNA and hoped he was correct in his assumption. The invisible gas would spread to certain types of nervous system and disrupt it. In this case, it locked on to stress hormones produced during fits of rage. Neurotoxicity had quite a few benefits, he thought grimly, reconfiguration being one of them.

He waited five seconds. Then he locked eyes with Deshayla again. He nodded once, firmly.

She burst out of her cover and, on cue, Kerrin moved his omni-tool out from behind cover. Inducing neural shock wasn't nearly as stealthy (and a bit more dangerous), but it certainly did the job. Five dropped like an overfull sack of bricks. One turned around in shock, already partway through what was no doubt a disconcertingly violent curse. But the neurotoxin had already worked its magic - he tried to hold up his rifle, but he acted too quickly for his weakened body to keep up. Before he had the chance to act, Deshayala fired and shot the rifle right out of his hands.

Kerrin fully expected him to realize his odds were then nil, but then recognized that he didn't account for traditional stupidity. One roared and charged (clumsily). Deshayla snorted and backhanded him so hard that she dented his helmet. Kerrin rolled out of cover and dusted his outfit off.

That still left the bomber, though.

For his part, the instigator (whom Kerrin had, on a whim, elected to mentally refer to as 'Jim') seemed far too shocked to do anything dangerous such as, say, following through on his threats and killing them all right then. That gave them an opening. Kerrin waved Deshayla down and took a tentative step forward, hands raised in a gesture of peaceful semi-surrender.

"Who...who are you?" Jim asked, still bewildered.

"I could ask you the same thing." Kerrin replied smoothly. "Or, more importantly, why you are doing what you are doing."

Mercifully, the assorted hostages were silent during the exchange, and Kerrin privately applauded their shared common sense. The store owner was still whimpering on the floor, but that didn't necessarily count.

"Th-they made me." Jim gesticulated wildly to the various unconscious thugs while he stammered. "I d-didn't want..."

"And I believe that." Kerrin nodded. "However, I need you to stay calm. Do you know how your bomb is disarmed?"

"N-no..." Jim mumbled, though he stopped looking quite so panicked, which was a good sign.

"Do you have any objections to having a disposal unit called?"

Jim's eyes widened. "W-what...I can't go to jail!"

"I have little doubt that a situations victims tend to remain free." Kerrin assured him. "But we need an expert in this field."

"You mean...you're not?" Jim asked.

Kerrin shook his head.

"But...aren't you STG?" Jim blinked a few times.

Kerrin smiled. "No. I'm just a doctor."

* * *

It didn't take long for C-Sec to sent additional assistance, though it took them several minutes to arrive. Deshayla had assured them that the situation was under control, but they had sent at least four squads anyway. They merely found a frightened and immobile unwilling bomber, a group of civilians, a quintet of bound terrorists, and two medical specialists who felt mildly pleased with themselves.

During the interval, Kerrin had checked the crowd for serious injuries. His most pressing concern, the store owner, was taken under first care, but miraculously no one else was seriously hurt. Including the bodies, the salarian thought grimly, looking over for the thirteenth time in as many minutes at the carelessly executed woman on the floor barely meters from him. Deshayla was doing her typical 'duty', which involved growling at anyone who so much as glanced at him and modifying her new sidearm to nigh-ridiculous lengths so as to make it an even more painful killing tool.

"Thank you..." The owner muttered to him as he went over her wounds, patching normally where he could and applying medicine where he couldn't. He was no replacement for a fully stocked medical facility, of course, but he liked to think he did an excellent job with what he had.

"You're quite welcome." Kerrin told her softly. Due to the distance everyone else was putting between themselves and him (or, more likely, his krogan compatriot), he was able to hold a conversation unheard by any others. Which was good. He had questions. "Why was that man interrogating you like that?"

"Didn't...give him correct change." She tried to chuckle, but it turned into a rasping cough. Despite himself, Kerrin smiled, too; how she was able to keep humor with such injuries mystified him. And yet, somehow, it was also infectious. "No, too late for jokes, I think." She corrected herself.

"Unfortunately, I have to agree." Kerrin said.

"He wanted..." She paused, considering, he assumed, how much to tell him. "Something of mine. A secret. Something I...admit, is getting harder to keep. These men...they were just the first." She fixed him with a stony gaze. "You said you weren't STG?"

He shook his head, and she continued. "But I guess you can...handle yourself. Lis...listen, doctor. Can you keep a secret?"

Kerrin hesitated. "I may not be the best..."

"No one is." She said. "Not with this. But I'd rather know...it's with someone like you. Someone who...can help."

"Perhaps you could just send me flowers and a 'thank-you' card instead?" He suggested facetiously.

"Better than...than an employee discount." She laughed again. This time, it was full-throated, if hoarse.

Kerrin, at this had stopped paying attention. Where before his scans had only picked up the expected injuries, now something was wrong. Some kind of toxin even he didn't recognize was spontaneously in her system. He could _see_ her organs shutting down in front of his eyes. "No..." He muttered, trying to think of a solution.

"Better...this keep..." She took out an OSD and set it on her lap. Her words were getting harder to released, her breaths ragged.

"No." He said again. "Stay awake..." He was starting to panic. Everything was going wrong too quickly. His brain was racing at eight-hundred thousand and twenty six point four miles per half-minute, but he still couldn't keep up. There was no injection he had, no antitoxin that matched. Desperately, he tried injecting virtually random substances. Blood thickeners, nervous inhibitors, antibiotics, anything.

He barely heard her last words. "Tell your...friend..she can keep..."

His ears didn't even register the beep his omni-tool scanner made when her heart stopped.

"...The...hat..."

Brain function. Nil. Circulation. Gone. Everything was just...off. Like a light. Except it couldn't be turned back on. Some blueish blood trickled out of her open mouth and splattered down over her outfit. It obscured some of her employee nametag, making it read 'Kyr_ra, Man_r'.

Loud banging noises brought him back to his senses with a jolt. Were there more terrorists? Another attack? A low, commanding voice called out from the other side of the closed entrance: "This is Citadel Security! I expect to see weapons down!"

Kerrin glanced over to warn Deshayla, but she was already setting his pistol on the floor (reluctantly). Mere seconds after their announcement, no less than nine officers piled into the room, four of them in a bomb squad garb. Jim winced, but mercifully kept his stillness and composure. Kerrin decided he might as well announce his presence and stood. However, the commanding officer, an otherwise unremarkable turian, had already noticed him.

"Looks like this situation is already half resolved." He noted. "I take it you're the miracle doctor the call mentioned?"

"I don't do miracles." Kerrin couldn't keep a bitter tone out of his voice. The pain of losing two people was already starting to fade as he began to logically digest recent events, but even for him it would require time. "But I am a doctor."

The turian looked slowly and obviously over to the five bound criminals in the center of the room and then looked back. An eyeridge was raised in irony. "A doctor."

"If you'd like, I can produce multiple resumes and credentials." Kerrin shot back, his tone dry.

"That...won't be necessary." The officer scratched the back of his neck. "You have me in an awkward spot, doctor. Because of your involvement, I do have to take you into light custody, for questioning. That being the case, I-"

Kerrin held up a hand, cutting him off. "I have no problems with interrogatory custody, under these circumstances."

He nodded and motioned to Jim. "And the bomber?"

"As responsible as the civilians, I believe." Kerrin considered the problem. "That being said...his innocence is his own testimony. I did assure him that he would remain blameless, but..."

"We have to take the proper precautions." The officer said automatically. Then he took another look at Jim, and relented slightly. "But...I don't see a particular reason to be unnecessarily rough."

"Can we leave now?" Kerrin asked softly. "I've...had enough of this place."

* * *

"...And you have no idea why they tried something like this?"

The travel between the store and the C-Sec office was interspersed with various thoughts and musings on Kerrin's part. Foremost in his mind were thoughts twofold: Why he had been unable to save the owner, and what she had on that OSD which was so important. While he naturally had the mysterious device with him, he hadn't had the chance to look it over. Every moment he was under surveillance, though, was a moment spent agonizing over the multitude of secrets he now had on his person. The only piece of evidence he had that it was of even vague import was assumption. A good assumption, but no 'hard' data. The assumption being that five heavily-armed men did not force a bomb on someone and beat the life out of someone else for a pie recipe.

The pressure that was putting on his logical thinking was almost as bad as the mystery itself. The other thoughts were hardly any better. He thought he could refuse to torture himself unnecessarily over two deaths that were not his fault. But unfortunately, his conscience would apparently not let him be. Time dilation kicked in within minutes of arriving at C-Sec headquarters. He subconsciously recognized and recorded events, but couldn't quite remember how he had arrived in the room with the asari staring at him.

Mechanically, and untruthfully, he answered her question. "No. Does anyone willing to resort to such measure need a reason?"

Her lips pursed. "Socially-disabling sociopathy isn't always the answer. I wish it were that simple, but they were in there for _something_."

"And you think we know what that was?" Deshayla asked, a warning growl creeping into her tone.

"Two combat specialists who just happened to be in the same place can bring down five armed terrorists?" The asari stared at them again, letting her meaning sink in. "Are you telling me that's not suspicious?"

"It is suspicious." Kerrin agreed. "But that does not equate to connected. I'm glad we were in the right place and the right time to save those people, but there was no other reasoning behind it."

"All right." She exhaled near-silently and went on with a trace of sardonicism. "I'll put it up to that the building was full of clergy."

"What," Deshalya snorted. "You think we were actually _with_ those idiotic meatsacks?"

"What I'm _telling you_ is that so far, I don't know what to think." The asari corrected. "Neither does the executor. This has turned into a full-scale investigation, and we take hostages and terrorism _very_ seriously on the Citadel."

"Can we leave?" Kerrin asked, more bluntly than he intended.

The officer fixed them with one of her stares. It occurred to them that she must do that quite a bit to be so disconcerting while doing so. Finally, her gaze lowered. "Honestly, I could charge you with vigilantism. But screw that. The executor might be that much of a vindictive asshole, but I'm not. You can go."

They stood in unison. "Do you think your executor will give us trouble?" Kerrin asked.

She chuckled humorlessly. "Not right now, maybe. But I don't recommend getting taken into custody again for a while."

"We'll be off, then." Kerrin took a step outside, then turned back. "And thank you, officer..."

"Vanno." She nodded. "And you're welcome."

By the time they got back to the main C-Sec area, the station was in an uproar. Officers rushed around desperately, various higher ranking officials were simultaneously giving orders and trying to maintain them. Someone with more of an ego might have wondered as to the timing and why such a show was being put on for them, but Kerrin merely wondered what was going on.

"Nice timing." Deshayla muttered. "Why's there a big show for little old us?"

Vanno frowned and pulled aside another officer. "What's going on here?" She asked.

"Officer Jelanis is dead, ma'am, they found him in The Trap." The young human looked nervous and humbled, and for the first time Kerrin wondered exactly how much clout Vanno had.

The asari paled ever so slightly and pursed her lips. "Dismissed." Vanno mumbled. The junior officer sped off.

"The hell's 'The Trap'?" Deshayla asked.

"It's an area outside C-Sec headquarters, in the wards." Vanno explained. "It used to be a lot for officers to park their vehicles coming in, but now it's a graveyard for informants supposedly under C-Sec protection. It's damned embarrassing."

"Why isn't it under guard?" Kerrin inquired.

"Every cop we send out there either disappears or mysteriously 'forgets'." Her tone made it clear that she was much more upset about the situation than she let on. And she let on quite a bit. "It's pissing us off to no end. But losing an officer in there..." She shook her head.

"What-" Kerrin began. He was quickly cut off.

"VANNO!" The voice was rough, with an accent that Kerrin, as a nonhuman, couldn't place. He turned to see a C-Sec officer almost running towards them. He looked furious, and numerous others shrinking away from him also lowered their gazes.

Vanno looked suddenly like she was trying to hide the expression normally associated with punching something. "Hello, Executor..."

"Don't give me that bullshit." He growled. "Why the hell are we getting picked off in our own damned backyard?"

"I only just heard." Kerrin, personally, was impressed with how calm her voice managed to be. "Maybe you could ask Clarke? He was in charge of today's watch over the Trap."

"Clarke's gone, too." The Executor spat. "I've got fuck-all for intel, so why aren't you up front?!" He glanced at Kerrin and Deshayla, then did a double-take. "And who the fuck are these people?!"

"Concerned civilians putting in a report. " Vanno told him smoothly. She, too, looked at them, but her expression was less 'shoot these idiots' and more 'run, you morons'.

"Who were just leaving." Kerrin added, already backing away.

"Fine, go." The Executor waved his hand and turned his full attention on Vanno. As the medical pair left the elevator and got inside the rapid transit station, Kerrin thought that he honestly wasn't sure who to feel more sorry for.

* * *

"And that's all." Kerrin concluded. It honestly wasn't; he had elected to leave out the OSD during his retelling. Based on the expressions of the others, their 'adventures' had been similar. The unconscious geth was another indicator.

The hooded human behind Renar looked around the docking area. Kerrin couldn't see his face, but he imagined it wasn't particularly impressed. "I notice a distinct lack of a ship."

"Yeeeaaaaaaaah." Davisson scratched his head. "We have no idea what that's about, either."

"Urgent distress call?" Tali posited.

"Just as well." Deshayla grumbled. "I could use something to eat. And it looks like we've got time."

They all looked at each other. Except Tali; she was crouched, eyes on the geth she was working on reviving.

Renar shrugged. "That sounds fine."

**"ONLINE."**

The sudden (and loud) noise made them all jump and look down at Jeddah, who had begun to stir. "Er, Jeddah, can you turn down your auditory output settings?" Tali asked.

"Affirmative, Creator Tali'Zorah." The geth stood to its full height with surprising agility. "Notice: I appear to have several missing files in my memory banks."

Tali shook her head. "No, you were just deactivated."

"Unfortunate."

"Hey, maybe we can fill him and the Doctor here on our various misadventures. While we're _eating_. At a place that sells _food_." Davisson suggested.

"All right, all right." Tali stopped him, but sounded amused.

"There's a fairly diverse hole-in-the-wall on Zakera Ward." The hooded man said.

"You mean the very excitable noodle peddler?" Tali asked.

"What? No. He couldn't manage decent food if his grandmother slapped him in the face with a cookbook."

"If we're going to go, we might as well go." Deshayla shrugged. Then she fixed 'Hood' (ah, now he was getting the hang of nicknames) with a suspicious glare. "This place has ryncol, right?"

* * *

"And here we are." Davisson concluded.

Both he and Renar had retold their tales for the benefits of Kerrin, Deshayla, and Jeddah, the latter of which seemed very interested in the situation regarding Amber Wave. Kerrin himself had vaguely heard of the organization (or perhaps he was thinking of something else) and to think they had done something so horrific chilled him. As for Renar and the individual now known as Bob, at least he now knew the details of 'The Trap'. He couldn't honestly say he mourned Jelanis' death, either.

Of particular import (to Kerrin, at least) was exactly how Bob had known the things he did. Every indication was that this man was anything other than an ordinary vigilante. His gaze drew absently over to a nearby group of quarians while he considered the situation. Surely someone had to be told. Vanno was the most likely, but would anyone honestly believe Jelanis had been dirty?

"So how exactly did you manage to know all of that?" Deshayla asked Bob. "Seems like an intensive job for some random human."

"You don't like a good mystery?" Bob asked casually.

Kerrin sighed. Tali was having a conversation via omni-tool (likely with her geth companion), Davisson and Renar were taking the opportunity to eat, and Deshayla was now regarding Bob with an air of wariness. The food wasn't bad, but at the moment, the atmosphere could have been better. Davisson suddenly put his fork down and rubbed his chin in thought.

"What I really want to know..." He whispered to the others. "Is why all of the other customers in here have weapons."

Kerrin surreptitiously glanced around the diner. Sure enough, he caught glimpses of steel and thermal clips under the tables of the quarians, a group of street toughs, and a gathering of seemingly normal people. No sooner had he made his own conclusions than everything went directly to hell.

Half a dozen C-Sec officers burst into the diner, weapons drawn. Their leader, a turian (the same turian present in the store, Kerrin realized with a jolt) pointed his weapon at Renar and shouted: "You're under arrest!"

Everyone in the room took that as their cue to stand up and draw arms. One of the quarians shouted "Amber reigns!", one of the toughs pulled out a shotgun and aimed it at Bob with a "Gadschalk sends his regards!", and the normal people dove for cover, announcing in unison that "Shadows will take you!".

The Normandy's shore crew had a much simpler yet much more simple battle cry.

"Oh, shit." Davisson muttered.

"So much for vacation." Tali sighed. "Bet Garrus is having a ball in com-"

Davisson looked almost exactly like a giant exclamation point should have appeared over his head. "Shut _u-!_"

* * *

Fire and debris rained down around them. A line of freezing rounds connected just over Kaidan's head as they ducked into the building. It wasn't the safest avenue of cover; it was little more than a shack. But it could last them for some breathing room. Vaya closed the door behind them and collapsed in a heap to the left of it.

"Corporal, status!" Garrus shouted.

Vaya nodded. "Just a scratch, Admiral."

"Bravo team, come in!" Garrus yelled into his comm connection. "Vega, what's going on in the east side?"

The marine's response was immediate, but rushed. Garrus heard the sounds of gunfire on the other end. "I'm taking a beating over here, don't know how much longer I can last without the defense systems online!"

"What about the others?" Garrus asked. "Where's your backup?"

"They're down, Garrus." The turian suddenly felt remarkably like he was falling. He dreaded the next words out of Vega's mouth just as much as he suspected what they would be.

"Lokkan's dead."

**[Author's Note: It's a bit of an early update, and hopefully that makes up just a little bit for having missed last week's. So, yes, surprises abound. We won't see the outcome of the Citadel team for a little while, but meanwhile next Chapter centers around what in the sam hell is going on wherever Garrus and co. are.**

**And yes. This cliffhanger is evil. I regret nothing. Stay tuned!]**


	22. Chapter 22: Welcome To The Jungle

**[Author's Note: I made an edit to Chapter 15, which will please any readers who were as bothered as I was that Davisson could spontaneously 'port to places he can't necessarily see a few chapters later. Now the limitations of his device are a little more clear. It's only an addition of two sentences, but now it won't disturb me so much.**

**And, as always, a big shout-out to my readers. You, reading this, right now. Yes, you. Thank you. Overcoming the quintuple-digit view number is wonderful.]**

_"It takes a lot out of you to lose a friend. But, somehow, it can be even worse to lose someone you barely knew."_

* * *

**Earlier that day...**

* * *

While the Normandy was still docked, Shepard had some time to dig deep into her thoughts and simply lie back in the calm. Even thought she wasn't actually on the team's rotation (Chakwas still adamantly refused to allow her off the ship and into a combat situation), she still wouldn't allow anything to happen without being on board personally to oversee it. Thus, in a time of relative calm like this, she felt less assured and more...ill at ease.

While she was far from wishing they were under attack by pirates (mostly because she was not an idiot), she was still restless. Not only was she effectively detained, but she couldn't even look forward to an adrenaline-inducing encounter on the ground to keep her thoughts out of her head.

Harbinger was her main concern in those moments of silence. What Cerberus and the Reaper were doing bothered her to no end. She constantly felt like she should be watching over her shoulder. Even the Normandy didn't feel safe anymore. No place in the galaxy was safe if the Reapers returned. And all she could do about it was just...sit there.

Granted, she thought as she adjusted her arms to a more comfortable condition around the turian next to her, there were benefits to just sitting there. Garrus shifted in his sleep, this being the only time short of death his posture was relaxed. Shepard wistfully thought that she should be gladdened to fall asleep. But then, she'd slept for five years. She'd had quite enough of it.

This thought having implanted itself firmly in her mind, she carefully rose from their bed, stretching her arms and back once in a slow, relieving motion. Her feet touched the bare floor, sending brief twinges of cold up and down her legs. She frowned. It might have been less of a fire hazard than, for example, felt, but it could be annoying without very specific temperature regulators.

She slipped into her casual attire, tugged her hair back into its customary ponytail, and stepped into the elevator. Before the doors closed, she took another look at the bed and, despite herself and the stress she'd placed herself under, she smiled.

The ride down to the CIC was not a very long one. In point of fact, it was barely more than five seconds, much to her relief. The crewmen on duty paused in between pacing to salute, a gesture Shepard gladly returned. Setting her omni-tool to access the galaxy map's communications, she decided she'd take up a new ally on his offer.

"Commander Shepard." Admiral Norran sounded as though she was trying to contain excitement, and in general exuded more youth than her predecessor had. If perhaps not as much capability, that Shepard had seen. "I'm glad Councilor Ramirez was able to talk to you about my offer."

"I'm surprised the two of you even had time to coordinate, Admiral." Shepard said. "I don't think I'd been awake for more than a few hours."

"It's been nearly impossible to keep this off the press, nevermind the Council or Alliance Command." Norran said. "Major Alenko told us right away."

It struck Shepard that she hadn't even considered what an uproar her return would make. If the first time had been disconcerting... "What are my standing orders regarding secrecy?"

Norran sighed. "This is a complicated situation, Commander. While we can't keep you a secret forever, it's been too long to simply explain this away. I would advise that you use your best judgment until this is sorted out."

Shepard nodded. "Understood."

"In the meantime, we have a few situations going on in the galaxy that we could use your expertise with." Norran went on. "Interested."

"I'll hear what you've got, but my crew and I can't make any promises." Shepard informed her.

"Understood, Commander." Norran replied. "Your investigation into the Reapers is a top priority. But we have a silent colony that we'd like you to look into."

Shepard frowned. "Details?"

"This particular colony houses a few of our more advanced scientific assets. It's a fairly out-of-the-way garden world, rarely paid any mind by aggressors or even our own people." Norran explained. "But we lost contact yesterday, and that's very unusual. What's worse, the small fleet we sent disappeared. A stealth vessel like the Normandy would be invaluable for reconnaissance.

Further, New Damascus is of perhaps even more interest to you, personally. One of your former crewmates, Jacob Taylor, is there in a civilian capacity."

"Jacob's down there?" Shepard asked. "I'll get a team on it immediately, send me the coordinates."

"Important as your mission is, Shepard, it's good to have you on the job again. Your coordinates will arrive momentarily. Admiral Norran out." True to her word, Shepard's omni-tool lit up mere seconds later.

"EDI." She said aloud. "Get everyone to the briefing room."

* * *

The ground team was ready within minutes. Shepard sent a message to the helm for Joker to start on those coordinates effective immediately. They might make good time, but it would still take them a few hours to reach the Artemis Tau cluster.

"And keep the stealth systems on when we leave a relay." She reminded him.

"I know the drill, Commander." He replied cockily.

The CO herself was the last to arrive, so she found Liara, Vaya, Kaidan, Garrus and Lokkan already waiting, weapons holstered and armor donned. It occurred to her that this would be the first time she had seen that they would be going on a mission without her. This thought did not make her feel any better.

"As per our status quo," She began. "We have a problem. The New Damascus colony went silent recently, and we now have an official request to investigate. Until such time as we have a breakthrough regarding the Reaper threat, we will do what we can to ensure the safety of the civilians in the Traverse.

That being said, this isn't an ordinary colony. It houses various scientists valuable to the Alliance, and is considered an asset. Why it's dark is now a mystery we very much want solved."

"Why send us?" Vaya asked. "And not an investigation unit?"

"Stealth systems." Shepard elaborated. "They tried sending a traditional small fleet, but they didn't report back, either. We have no idea what we're dealing with, so I hope I don't have to tell you that we need to proceed with caution."

Everyone looked at Lokkan, some perhaps more out of instinct than anything else. He scoffed. "Ach, fine! Nae shootin' hinges offa doors'n whatnae. I'll be bloody quiet."

"Since Dr. Chakwas has..._insisted_..." Shepard emphasized through slightly gritted teeth. "That I stay aboard, I'll have to stay within radio contact only. Since we're dealing with a blackout, keep close at all times in case our comms go dead. If that does happen, command descends from Garrus, Kaidan, and Liara."

"Anything else, Commander?" Kaidan asked.

Shepard nodded. "Intel is one of our top priorities. Find out what's going on down there whenever you can. Our number one is evac, assuming this is a false alarm. We need to establish a rendezvous point for civilians to fall back to. EDI, Liara, you two are on guard duty. Stand by on the pickup point or points. Everyone else, stick together. Further planning as events warrant."

She glanced around. "...Why are you all smiling?"

"No reason, Commander." Kaidan told her. "It's just...good to have you back."

* * *

The hardest part, as always, was the waiting.

Shepard had set up a link to the rest of the squad with which to communicate - a virtual map in the briefing room would keep her up to date on the battlefield, and a display nearby told her the statuses of the team. She even had a headset and a cup of coffee. Even so, it was tense. She found herself counting down the minutes until the Normandy entered their destination system. And so, of course, it took much longer than it really should have.

The ground unit, having essentially nothing better to do, kept her company. This, if anything, made it worse. All of the others wore armor, weapons, and grim expressions. Standing alongside them in what amounted to civvies by comparison made her feel stark naked. She'd have like absolutely nothing better than to feel the hard grip of her pistol, the enclosing protective layers of her armor, and the comfort that came with knowing that no matter how bad it got, she'd at least be with them through it all.

Now? No such luck.

Vaya and Lokkan were busy comparing rifles when the call came in from the cockpit. "Hitting the last relay now."

A three-dimensional hologram of the Alexandria system fleshed to the forefront of their map. It zoomed in on the planet Eros. Several specks appeared to be in orbit around both the close and far sides of the planet.

"Is that a fleet?" Liara asked.

"Looks Batarian..." Garrus pointed out. "What are they doing out here?"

"We can take a wild guess." Shepard said grimly. "Joker, EDI, bring us into orbit as carefully as possible, then run a scan on the colony."

"They do not appear to be actively bombarding the planet, Shepard." EDI notified her. "However, I have detected a type of signal jamming device that I am not familiar with emanating from somewhere on the planet's surface."

"How disruptive is it?" Liara inquired. "Does it only affect long-ranged communications?"

There was a pause. "All types of communication appear to be affected."

"That's going to make this difficult." Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose.

"We've been in worse spots, Commander." Kaidan said. "We'll manage."

"EDI, will we lose the maps, too?" Garrus asked.

Another pause. "Negative. The systems used to map ground level in real time do not rely on the same types of transmissions. However, my physical body will not be able to accompany you."

"So I can keep an eye on the action, but I can't warn any of you if I receive useful intel, not to mention being short one teammate." Shepard grumbled. "This is going to turn into torture very quickly."

"We'll be fine." Lokkan assured her. "I'll bring ya back a nice set of 'eads."

"Orbiting in five!" Joker warned them. "I'm not sure about the ground situation, so clear up that jammer before I come in for pickups."

"Shuttle's going to be cramped." Kaidan noted.

"We'll manage." Garrus nodded. He began to turn away with the rest of them, but stopped. His head turned to lock eyes with his Commander. "Shepard..." He said. "We'll be back."

"You'd better." Shepard told him, trying to keep humor in her tone. "Chakwas'll never let me hear the end of it if I have to go down there and save your ass."

"You stay safe." He warned. "No matter what happens to us."

Shepard saluted with a touch of sardonicism. "Aye aye, Admiral."

"Done yet?" Lokkan armed his shotgun for emphasis. "Let's get a move on, before all th' good kills're gone."

Garrus donned his helmet and followed the engineer out. His HUD flashed with the images of all its associated systems. Everything working perfectly. It had been far too long since he'd broken out his good gear, which he had realized to his chagrin during the Citadel mission. As he filed into the shuttle, though, he still thought there was something missing. Something...

The silence helped him think, and also helped him realize exactly what that was. While Liara filled in Cortez with the relevant need-to-know information, he accessed him omni-tool.

"Visor set, firefight." He murmured. "Track three."

Immediately, the thrum of the music surged into his headset. Deep bass and quick rhythms. Perfect for the job ahead. It wasn't until the song had halfway passed that he realized with dawning horror Kaidan and Lokkan's feet were tapping to the exact beats he was hearing. He checked his comm settings and, sure enough, he was playing battle tunes across the entire ground team's channel.

He slowly moved to turn it off, but Lokkan picked that moment to speak up. "Well turn it up, then, le's hear it while we can!"

He thought about it. Then he shrugged and obliged. After only one replay, his teammates began to tap the sides of their helmets in confusion. His HUD sent him a message warning that inter-party contact had suddenly cut out. _Well_, he thought grimly. _Here we go again._

The shuttle touched down in a jungle clearing near to the colony, but outside of LADAR range. It would be a hike, but they might be able to catch any batarians by surprise. All five of them formed a semicircle perimeter until the shuttle rose again, and made certain no ambushes lay in wait. Garrus set his speakers to external broadcast. "Liara, do you think you can hold this point on your own?"

She nodded. "Certainly. If I need assistance, should I sent out a biotic flare?"

"It's not like that could make it worse if you're already struggling." Garrus said. "Do it. Everyone else, form up. We go east. Vaya, keep down and take point. Hustle - we'll keep it slow so you have time to warn us if there's anything ahead."

"Understood."

"Lokkan, take point. Pass out the weaponry enhancements and obliterate any chargers."

"Aye."

"Kaidan, stick to the Phaeston and provide suppressive fire. I'll keep an eye out for frozen targets."

"Yes sir."

The thick foliage ahead of them camouflaged the movements of both the forward and rear combatants with startling efficacy, to the extent that even Garrus lost track of his allies at regular intervals. He recognized that an inherent problem with their first strategy was the potential for friendly fire. If they weren't careful, crossfires could easily be lethal for all of them. Over the sounds of cracking leaves and their own footsteps, he vaguely heard some kind of disturbance ahead of them, but couldn't make it out, even as they were making progress.

Eventually, though he didn't see her, he heard Vaya's voice come from his right side, tone urgent. "I found the colony...if you can call it that. It's more of a village. It looks as though a small militia is under assault from a large batarian force. Nothing particularly dire, but I recommend we don't draw attention to ourselves."

"Noted." Garrus told her. "Any guards?"

"Not anymore." Her amusement was audible, but whether it was in regards to his question or the killings themselves...either was equally disturbing to him, frankly.

He felt Lokkan moving next to him, and grabbed the engineer's shoulder to get his attention. He motioned to where he assumed Kaidan was and pointed two fingers in front of him. Lokkan nodded and moved around. Within moments, all three of their movements were synched and moving towards the steadily increasing sounds of gunfire.

When they arrived, it became immediately clear that a firefight was indeed in full swing - several defenders had hastily erected a barrier made out of small vehicles and crumbling walls, while heavy troopers clad in dark armor used the civilian's own buildings as cover. So far, it was a stalemate, but the defenders were losing defensive options rapidly.

Their counterattack came slowly. First, it was a surreptitious drone launched into their rear flank by an unseen Vaya. This allowed them to find prime positions while the batarians were distracted. Garrus himself located a suitable rooftop and waited for his opportunity. Then the attacker's weapons began to fail. Once every few minutes, nothing that could not be construed as anything other than an unfortunate malfunction. However, the discharges that Lokkan's 'modification' on their weapons left allowed Garrus to add each one to his LADAR system. Within a fairly short time period, he knew with certainty where each one was.

Then, assailants began to disappear. One at a time. With the battle being so heated, almost none of them noticed. The first to realize something was wrong disappeared too, before he could raise his suspicions with any of his companions. Eventually, there were eight left out of an original two and a half dozen. That was when the tide truly began to turn.

Garrus counted the seconds, keeping a bead on one specific target. Five passed, and one of his talons tapped the trigger. In the same instant, an explosion ripped the enemy barricade to shreds. Four died instantly in the conflagration, and another two suffered a tragic and immediate loss of all their brain matter. Garrus would never admit it to anyone, but he'd been paying attention during Davisson's little ricochet trick, and on a whim decided to try it himself. The rock was just strong enough to support a bouncing of the special round against the surface of the floor and then into the back of a batarian's skull.

At last, the final two members of that brigade noticed something was going wrong. One of them turned only to have his neck snapped by a previously-invisible turian scout, and the other was turned into even less than mulch by Lokkan, who'd had a clustered explosive shotgun round ready during most of the activity. Apparently they became more deadly with age.

Garrus rolled off the top of the building when everything went quiet. Vaya sprinted for a choice spot near the perimeter to hide in once again while Kaidan and Lokkan kept watch. One of the defenders pushed a crate a few inches to the side. It was a human boy, no more than seventeen years. He held a pistol like a lifeline, and his face spoke fear beyond terror.

"It's all right." Garrus assured him. "We're here to help."

"Y-you can't come in." The boy sounded firm, but uncertain. His words sounded forced, like he'd repeated them often. "We..."

"Hang on, _Chico_." A more confident, deeper tone came from further beyond the barricade. A familiar one. "I think I recognize that flange. We're good."

To Garrus' surprise, no less than three heavily muscled marines began pushing the cover out of the way. The building they set up was strewn with holes and filled with wounded. Only six of them looked even remotely up to fighting. The rest either groaned in pain or didn't stir at all. In the center stood a man even fitter than all of the others, an N7 insignia emblazoned on his armor. His Mohawk was especially distinctive.

"Weird seeing you down here, _amigo_." Vega couldn't quite hide his smile and, beneath the helm obscuring his features, neither could Garrus. "But I'll take what I can get."

"James." Garrus shook his head. "What are you _doing _here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Vega replied. "At least I had orders to investigate. What are you doing, going around space, looking for stranded marines?"

"Something like that." Garrus conceded. "But I missed the stranded part."

"Yeah, our ship kind of..." Vega scratched the back of his head. "Exploded. This colony is something like priority number one, but no one said anything about fleets."

"Believe me, we missed the same memo." Garrus made sure to infuse his tone with a few touched of sardonicism for flavor. "How long have you been down here?"

"Couple of days." Vega nodded deeper inside the building, at the wounded. "We were pretty screwed until you showed up. They just kept pounding us."

"This can't be the entire colony, can it?" Kaidan asked.

Vega shook his head. "That's a negative. I guess this is sort of a decoy cluster. Real place is further in, but for all I know they hit that too. Get this; they have some sort of advanced security system, but they can't get it online unless someone knows about it."

"And they can't know with communications knocked out." Garrus finished. "They might have noticed something was wrong, though. Any indications?"

"I was a little busy trying not to die." Vega grimaced. "You'd think if they knew about this they'd have turned on whatever they've got by now."

"Is anyone else having flashbacks to Horizon?" Kaidan asked wearily. "Because if these turrets are anything like..."

"Doubt it's that complex." Garrus reassured him. "James, now that we've got you out of the fire, what was your plan?"

Vega exhaled slowly. His eyelids were already beginning to droop shut, and Garrus realized he must have been awake for days, running on stims. He was reminded uncomfortably of Noveria, and really hoped that Alexandria wasn't a planet housing a nest of rachni. "Honestly, most of my plans were about exactly how we were going to die." Vega looked around. "Now, I'm not really trusting myself to lead these guys out."

"We have a pickup point nearby." Garrus said. "Are they mobile?"

"The ones that are still alive?" Vega asked. He glanced behind him, and his voice became softer, infused with guilt. "Yeah."

"Hey..." Garrus moved forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "This wasn't you, Vega. Understand? Their lives are on those batarian bastards, not your unit. Same with your ship, your crew. Now, I need you at one hundred and ten percent, not overthinking the past."

Vega kept his gaze away, but Garrus saw his resolve hardening. He gripped the Revenant he was holding like a lifeline. Finally, he nodded. Slowly at first, but the tempo increased with the speed of his thoughts. "Will do. We're with you."

"Good." Garrus motioned to the other Alliance troopers. "Handpick your best men, and send the rest to our secure pickup point with Lokkan."

Vega furrowed his brow. "Well, sure, but...How'd you know him?"

Sudden confusion hit Garrus like a hammer. "What? He's on my squad, he used to work aboard my ship."

They were locked together, mentally, in a whirling torrent of 'what the hell'. Vega managed to sum in it up as few words as possible: "Huh?"

Lokkan, naturally, took that moment to enter the conversation. "Perimeter's clear so far, but maybe we shouldn't be standin' aroun' wagglin' our jaws after tha' ruckus, aye?"

Vega pointed at him weakly and began to ask "Why does he have a sc-" when another turian came from within the building, He was holding a datapad, and at first garrus thought he was weeping, even though that was anatomically impossible. Then he noticed that his 'tears' were purple tracings, like clan paint. Exactly like Lokkan's.

"Sir," He began, glancing up only briefly. "I think I have a plan for our entry, now that we have reinforcements."

"Shite..." Lokkan muttered, stepping back. "Mavarr?"

"_Raeko_?" Mavarr stared at him in disbelief. "What...what are you doing here?"

"Err." Lokkan had to take several moments to register the question. "Savin' tha colony, I suppose."

"You...'suppose'?" Mavarr sounded as though he was desperately trying to keep calm. "This visit is an accident, then?"

"Better question:" Garrus interrupted them. "What's going on?"

"Ah, Admiral..." Lokkan began nervously. "This...eh..."

"Professor Mavarr Lokkan, Sir." Mavarr nodded in greeting to Garrus tersely. "Scientific liaison to the Alliance operation here. I didn't have time to send word to Hierarchy, but I'm grateful you are here."

"This is incidental." Garrus said. "Which isn't to say the colony isn't our first priority. What was your entry strategy?"

"A pincer insertion." Mavarr had his concentration on the plan now, he still sent uncertain looks Lokkan's way, as though he couldn't quite decide what emotions to put forth yet. "I can activate the defense array and perhaps even disable the communications block. The main base has a central hub that I can access while multiple teams distract whatever hostiles might be there."

"And on the off chance there aren't any?" Kaidan asked.

Mavarr gave him an odd look. "Then our job becomes much easier."

"You have specs on the colony, Doc?" Vega asked.

Mavarr nodded and adjusted a setting on his omni-tool. A three-dimensional map of a large series of complexes that Garrus assumed was the main encampment. Frankly, it was very impressive, though he marveled at the possibility that it _hadn't_ been discovered. "How can it possibly not have been found?"

"They have several defensive measures." The image scrolled outward, and the view of the environs switched to dense tree cover. "From the air, you can't see anything, it's too deep in the forest. And we scramble LADAR, so you need line-of-sight."

Vega glanced at Garrus. "Orders?"

"We can use both plans." Garrus indicated the wounded civilians within the building. "Vega's marines will take them to the extraction point. They'll wait with Liara until we can resume communications. James, you and the rest of your men wait for our signal. I'll send Vaya ahead to scout out the area. With any luck, we won't need to worry about plan B."

* * *

It didn't take long for Vaya to return, and she informed the rest of the multiple squads that their nearby area was clear. Mavarr reluctantly gave her directions to the main encampment so that she could scout it out for enemies. As unlikely as it was that the batarians had found it, they needed to be completely certain before making any further plans. While she understood the necessity, it still would have been nice to have more intel on the place. All she had now were wits and a general location. Nothing new.

She'd disappeared into the brush during a lull in the conversation. She took note of Lokkan's hushed conversation with the other turian in the corner before she went, and couldn't help but wonder what was going on there. That could wait, however; the mission lay ahead. Her mind pushed all thoughts except what she had been trained to do far away. Now, she was alone with her breathing, the bushes, the trees. Her only companions were her weapons, he only safety her skill, and her enemies potentially everything around her. Without question, she loved this part.

Her LADAR picked up trace movements occasionally, too small to be even combat drones. She suspected they were indigenous life forms, sensing something was amiss. Hopefully they would be the only ones.

The journey there was as tense as it was long, particularly at her speed of a crouched walk. However, just around the time she began to wonder whether that turian scientist was setting her up to walk directly into an ambush, she saw the edge of a building sticking conspicuously into the foliage. When she approached, she realized that it wasn't a building, but a wall. The corner of one, to be specific. It didn't appear to be a hasty construction, necessarily, but it wasn't the best she'd seen, either. Given time, she had no doubt that she would be able to scale it. But infiltration could wait for a another time; right then, she only needed to know one thing, and then report back.

That was when she heard the screaming. Most definitely civilian, as specialists didn't make those kinds of noises, even during periods of extreme duress. That is, that she knew of. She supposed humans might have simply been more generally fragile when not enlisted. _Not enlisted_. As though being part of a military wasn't mandatory or the best option? Not for the first time, it struck her as a, well, alien concept.

She drew her pistol and slid along the wall. Her breathing slowed to the point where even she could barely hear it, even inside her helmet. She set the auditory input settings of her helmet to maximum and focused. Every sound became more acute. Every step was an earthquake, every breath a tornado, and the voices just over the wall like so many dreams beating against her senses.

"No! Please! Don't hurt me!" Human. Female. Young.

"Shut up and get back here." Batarian. Male. Incensed. "If I have to go over there and get you, you'll be back in the labs missing limbs."

"Hah!" Another batarian. Also male. "The docs didn't say the needed 'em whole, did they?"

"Nah. Hell, they prefer pieces."

The volume of the girl's sobbing increased, pounding is way into the center of Vaya's brain. She could not let the mission be compromised in any way. She tuned it out. "Please! PLEASE, NO!"

She found a low-hanging branch and clambered on, managing to lift her head above the wall for a better look inside the compound. Only her willpower kept a gasp from moving past her mouth. There were dozens of buildings, white structures reaching up towards the jungle's overcovering. But the main attraction was the sheer number of people milling around within. Vaya's stomach lurched when she realized that there were hundreds of them, and that each one was a batarian soldier.

She dropped off of the wall and hit the ground lightly. She made to sprint off, but she paused. Perhaps it was a spirit guiding her to hesitate, or perhaps it was merely her instincts again. But a fourth voice erupted from behind the wall, a familiar one.

**"What is the meaning of this? Why is this human not with the others? Their ascension must be finished quickly."**

Vaya ran. And she didn't look back.


	23. Chapter 23: Worse Here Every Day

_"Fear. That is your weakness. And it is one I do not share."_

"Go over that one more time."

Garrus held back a sigh. Vega had every right to be agitated about the situation at hand, and worried besides. But based on what Vaya had reported, they didn't have a lot of time to sit around arguing.

"Harbinger's back, and he has an entire Reaper fleet in dark space waiting to invade." Kaidan said tonelessly, as someone repeating something multiple times often does.

"Damn it, is anything ever over?" Vega threw his hands up in exasperation as the meaning of the events began to sink in.

"We intend to make it over." Garrus said. "But this is just one step. Obviously, we need to take back the colony..."

Vaya shook her head immediately. "Not with those numbers. Any assault would be tactically inadvisable."

"We don't need a tactical assault." Garrus pointed out. "Just a distraction. Our plan hasn't changed. Vega takes his men, Lokkan and...ah...Lokkan around one side and makes way for the defense systems. Meanwhile, the three of us cause enough havoc to give you a fighting chance."

"So, we get to go and turn on some turrets while you get yourselves killed?" Vega asked.

"We've had worse than a couple of batarians." Kaidan assured him.

"Hundred." Vaya corrected. "A couple hundred batarians."

Kaidan looked at her, then back at Garrus. "...Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"No." Garrus admitted. "But we don't need to gain ground, just make noise. And we can't call in for reinforcements, either. Our choices are fairly limited."

"In that case, sir," Vaya said. "I request permission to engage the enemy on a separate front alone."

"You'll be out of contact until their signal stops jamming us." Kaidan said. "No backup in case you get pinned."

Vaya slowly turned to look at Garrus. "Sir, is he actually implying what I think he is?"

Garrus sighed. Openly, this time. "Permission granted, but keep close to us. Bring them back to our killzone if it gives you an advantage.

"Understood."

They all stood in a circle for a time, silent. They traded looks with each other, most grim, and despite the urgency of the situation, none of them could bring themselves to be the first to start what could be their last fight. For his part, Garrus was mostly reflecting on the inherent unfairness of facing his death at the hands of a bunch of batarians. He'd personally much rather it be a horde of charging krogan, for example. Hell, even the mercenary triumvirate back at Omega would do. But this...it felt too ignominious for his tastes.

Eventually, Lokkan, their Lokkan, as was his wont, was the first to speak. "Well are we goin' or nae? I always hate ta miss a chance at gettin' shot."

"Right, yeah." Vega nodded. "Garrus, send me your comm signal. If we manage to get communications back, I want to be able to get a hold of you."

Garrus nodded, pulling up his omni-tool. But Lok- Mavarr was already transmitting a data stream to all of them. "This one has a link the any surviving scientists and security." He said. "Better contact."

"Appreciated." Vega clapped Mavarr on the shoulder. The turian looked at him strangely and lightly brushed his hand off. "Also, you're in charge."

"Wait." Mavarr held up both hands. "What?"

"Aye, run tha' by us again." Lokkan raised an eyeridge.

"Hey, I'm still hopped up on stims, so are they." Vega motioned to the two marines he'd chosen behind him. "Plus, you know where everything is. We've got the muscle, you've got the know-how. Don't worry, we'll be right behind you."

"Walking headlong into danger." Mavarr grumbled dryly. "This is exactly how I wanted to spend my afternoon."

"Pah, like it's not a daily expectation." Lokkan said. He got a stare for his trouble.

"And...you are coming as well?" Mavarr asked Lokkan suspiciously.

Lokkan nodded. "Aye. Admiral says I'm coming, so I'll go. Plus I wouldnae miss a chance or two ta save yer sorry arse."

"I'm...thrilled to be under your protection." Mavarr said uncertainly.

"Special tip; dodge the flamin' explosive balls I migh' throw past ya. They sting a wee mite."

While Mavarr was busy putting a hand over his face, Garrus gave Vaya a small nod. She disappeared into the brush, leaving he and Kaidan to proceed forward while the others went their own way. He sighed again.

And at the same time, his hand was ready to smack Kaidan if he used the words 'simple' or 'easy'.

* * *

Vega hated the planet. He hated the trees, hated the brush, hated the insects, the monkeys, the people...hell, he even hated the wind. Maybe that was just a reaction to being trapped there by the same circumstances which caused the deaths of so many people he'd known. An entire Alliance ship. Dozens of good men, just...gone. Much as he hated the planet, he hated the soldiers who'd done that more.

But he wouldn't allow his anger to push him into making stupid mistakes. His fatigue and the stims were already bad enough. If there was a shot at some payback when everything was clear, when it wouldn't hurt the mission...maybe. He knew his remaining men must have been thinking about the same thing. They were good people. But they might not have had the presence of mind that he did. They certainly hadn't had Shepard.

He winced when the thought crossed his mind. _Gaah, no es beuno. Gotta leave that wound closed._ But some wounds were harder, once opened, to close again than others. Try as he might to keep his head on straight, it was getting harder and harder, and he was glad Lokkan was leading the way. Or, well, Mavarr. And Lokkan. The Lokkans. Whatever.

"We've got a problem." He heard Mavarr mutter ahead of him only minutes after they set out. He felt like replying that, yes, of course they had a problem, there's an army of batarians and a supposedly dead Reaper taking over a science camp, but didn't feel it would be entirely necessary. "They have the back entrance guarded. Three of them, all armed."

"Eh, no problem." Vega shrugged. "You two and Ben can take care of it from a distance." He thumbed behind him towards 'Big Ben', his team's sniper.

Both Lokkans exchanged looks that Vega couldn't quite interpret beyond that they made him uneasy. Mavarr looked back first. "I can't fire a rifle accurately from this range."

"What?" Vega asked incredulously. "Don't turians all get the same military training?"

"Training doesn't make you good t it, just mildly proficient." Mavarr explained in a huff. Clearly it was something of a sore topic. "Why do you think I'm a scientist?"

Vega covered the top of his head with a hand and turned to the other Lokkan. He held up his weapon of choice and said, simply: "Shotgun."

"Great. Fantastic." Vega drew his assault rifle, hoping very dearly that a silenced Mattock could get the job done. "Ben, Louis, find some cover and engage on my go."

"Your go being...?" Louis asked, swapping his preferred omni-tool for a Viper reluctantly.

"Me firing or one of them dropping dead, whichever comes first." Vega grumbled. "Just keep your beads on one hundred percent. Get going." He moved further towards the enemy position for a decent vantage point and found that the foliage he'd been keeping cover behind ended about two hundred meters from the guards. Good enough for them not to notice him yet, but everything closer was wide open space.

He silently cursed. His tactics more often than not relied on getting in close for a mow-down, not precision strikes. While that distance might have been nearly trivial for an experienced marksman (which he technically was), he wasn't confident in his abilities in this particular situation. He might not be able to hit at all in the first few bursts, much less manage an instant kill.

Reluctantly, he flipped his gun to single shots and waited. He gave his men a good two minutes to get into a ready and waiting position, then lined up his firing sight. He remembered covering this at some point - slow your breathing, adjusting for target movement, the works - but putting it into practice wasn't as familiar as it should have been. He promised himself that, if he got out of this alive, he'd punch out his pride and get some sniping lessons off of Garrus.

Slowly, he squeezed the trigger. His shot flew across the intervening distance and plugged home...inches from the batarian's head. A puff of dust flew out from the wall behind him, and all three tangoes immediately turned in place. For some reason, it apparently occurred to none of them to move away, and Vega took another shot. It hit the dirt next to his target's right foot.

"Oh, _come on_." He muttered. The other two toppled over in unison with gouts of red mist, thanks no doubt to his teammates. For the third time, he aimed, fired, and...hit the batarian square in the eyeball.

"Yeah!" He cheered, standing up and raising his arms. "Did you see that?!" It took a moment of awkward silence before he remembered that comms were out. "Gah, damn it."

Louis came by and clapped him on the shoulder. "Nice shot, boss. Don't worry, I won't tell Ben it took you three tries."

"You won't, huh?" Vega asked suspiciously. Louis would never miss a chance to razz him to Ben about a missed shot.

"Nope." Louis assured him.

Ben himself came by not long afterward, helmet unhooked, Vega suspected, just to be able to level at him the look he now was. "Lieutenant-Commander, what the hell was that, sir?"

"It was pretty obvious." Louis continued.

"All right, all right." Vega muttered, shouldering his rifle. "Lock it down, would you? I got him eventually."

"And if you'd thrown a horseshoe or a grenade, close would matter." Ben relied sardonically.

"Actually, I think he might've done more damage with a horseshoe." Louis snickered.

"It clear yet?" Lokk- damn it, he really needed a way to tell them apart. Shotgun-guy asked from behind them. "Me bum's gettin' sore from all this sittin' around."

"Yeah, let's roll." Vega motioned Science-guy to the fore. "_Adelante_, guide."

Science tentatively approached the small gate, looking around him constantly for any threats. Vega thought that maybe he was a little jumpy, then remembered they were still in hostile territory. "Hey," He muttered to Ben and Louis. "Make sure he's got close cover, huh?" They nodded and sped off, Shotgun in tow.

Science had no troubles opening the gate. In fact, he audibly remarked that he was disappointed the batarians hadn't even bothered to change the code. Shotgun and Vega lead first look detail into what looked like a back alley behind a few buildings. He motioned the others to hold position and crouched next to Science. "All right, what's the plan from here?" He asked.

"The communications relay system building is just across the street from these buildings." Science whispered. "If we can get there, I'll be able to rewire our uplinks to ignore signal jamming."

"You can put us back in contact with Alpha?" Vega asked. Science nodded. "I'm guessing the place is gonna be guarded. You and me, we run for it when I give the signal. Your brother gets to take the other side." He motioned Louis over. "You guys run interference and cover for us when we cross."

"Yes, sir."

Vega leaned around the corner and took a look at what the street looked like. As expected, there was a veritable swarm of hostiles. But they all seemed to be running away. He grinned. "Looks like Alpha's keeping them off our tails. Keep close, we move in five." He held up his oustretched hand.

The entire group tensed. He lowered one finger. Then another. Another. He gripped his Scimitar more tightly and held up his last finger. Most of the batarian boots were already fading off into the distance. He formed his hand into a fist and raced across the intervening distance as quickly as he could. He bowled over a straggler, but kept running. A blast behind him made an assurance that the dazed enemy wouldn't be getting back up any time soon.

The three of them dove past the door and closed it behind them. The CommSat building looked more like two buildings spliced into one - the entry area, which was a largely empty space mostly devoted to the twisting lines of circuits that lined the walls, and the back end, which housed the actual control console. Vega followed Science up to the main console, where he went to work. Shotgun stayed back by the entrance, his namesake weapon trained on the front door.

Mere moments after he began, Science nodded triumphantly. Background noise crackled to life over Vega's communications earpiece, and he heard the sounds of combat on the other end. "Alpha team, come in." He said. "Short-range communications are back online, do you copy?"

Garrus' voice came back, nearly drowned out by enemy fire. "That's great, but we're a little busy here!"

"Yeah, well you'd better-" Vega began, but was quickly cut off. An enormous explosion rocked the foundations of the building, and blinded all three of them. Fire rained down from the ceiling. Vega himself was thrown bodily into the control console. When his eyes decided to register something again, the first thing they saw was that a large beam and other various debris and rubble had collapsed down the center of the CommSat building. He couldn't see any movement on the other side.

_Of course they had the place rigged._ He thought halfway out of panic. He reached out to make sure Science was still there, and was relieved to find the turian still moving. He tapped his earpiece. "Ben, Lou, respond!" There was no answer. Vega's heart fell.

Science took a moment to look desperately over the fiery barrier, and with a jolt, Vega remembered why he looked so much more shocked than he should. _Oh God._ He thought. _He just lost his brother._

"He'll meet back up with us outside!" Vega didn't even believe himself, but he had to say something to get Science moving out that door. Soldiers were probably already inbound to take them away or take them out. "We need to go, now!"

Science pushed himself up and towards the door. He opened it, and took one last look back behind him. Vega vaguely heard a shot coming from somewhere.

Science's head exploded in a fountain of blue.

The helmet already muffled outside noise, and had extra systems in the case of flashbangs or other possibly incapacitating noises, but this was different. Like the world had suddenly dropped out of focus. If he hadn't seen it happen so many times before, it would have lasted longer, but he pushed through it. He kept low, and sprinted out the open door. He saw cover across the street and made a beeline for it.

Rounds impacted the ground around him, and a few even hit his armor. He didn't see who was shooting, but he fired indiscriminately around him to cover himself while he ran. With one last push, he rolled over a steel fence-like construction and settled to catch his breath. He heard crackling in his earpiece as Garrus tried to contact him.

"Bravo team, come in!" Garrus shouted. "What's going on in the east side?"

Vega was talking before he actually registered he was talking. His mouth moved at a million miles an hour while he brain tried to come up with a plan. "I'm taking a beating over here, don't know how much longer I can last without the defense systems online!"

"What about the others?" Garrus asked. "Where's your backup?"

Vega exhaled inaudibly. "They're down, Garrus." He slumped against the fence and let his tone take on that final, defeated note. "Lokkan's dead."

* * *

It wasn't really Vaya's fault. She couldn't have know exactly what she'd be walking into. Not at that time. Her skills certainly weren't to blame - anyone else would simply have been found much sooner and, in point of fact, she had managed to eliminate a dozen enemies before being pinned. But the counter-attack in itself...was not going as planned.

The building that the three of them had elected to take cover inside was already beginning to crumble under the combined force of so many attackers. Vega was alone and under fire. Neither group was, in relative terms, anywhere close to the Defense Network. Garrus had been in a similarly hopeless situation before, one that he'd always hoped he would never have to repeat. So much for that.

As such, he kept himself appropriately blank when he responded to Vega's pronouncement. "Hold position. We'll think of something."

Naturally, Kaidan caught on the moment the line was cut. "You don't have a plan, do you."

"No, we're done." Garrus sighed and slumped against a wall. A sniper round made a hole just above his head. He raised his Mantis and drilled another right between the eyes of the opposing sniper without much thought. Each of them could kill dozens of batarians without any problem. But there were too many, and all it would take was one lucky shot, and then there would be two.

"That's all, then?" Vaya growled. "We're going to lay down and die?"

"Not now, Corporal, I'm thinking." Garrus reprimanded her softly. His thoughts drifted somewhat. He originally thought there would be more tension between them when she first came aboard. But it seemed that both of them recognized their previous dalliance as without emotional attachment. He was gladdened by that. It wouldn't put undue strain on any of them. Well, aside from her being a blatant spy for Empyreus. Even though his main motive for placing her aboard the Normandy was as obvious as a charging krogan, and Garrus honestly believed that Empyreus genuinely wanted to keep Davisson some measure of safe, it would be almost a crime not to use an asset like that for reports as well.

That was probably why Vaya was so angry. Not because she thought she might die, but because if she did, she wouldn't be able to report on it to the hierarchy.

"Vaya, do you still have that map of the encampment?" He asked.

She nodded. "I can avoid just enough contact to reach the Defense Systems building. After that, I can't promise anything."

"Read my mind." He smiled a bit. "Find Vega, take him with you. Backup won't go amiss."

"What about you?" Did she sound almost...worried?

Garrus reset his weapons systems for armor-piercing rounds and loaded a new thermal clip. "Someone needs to cover your escape."

He could almost hear the disapproving sigh in her tone. "Spirits guide you, Admiral."

"Walk softly, Dalias." He motioned Kaidan to take the opposite doorway and ready a firing spread. "Carry a thermal clip."

* * *

She waited, crouched by the doorway, until she could hear her compatriot's simultaneous fire. Then, she slid out the side door, launching a drone out the window as an added distraction measure. A small squad had already begun to flank on her side, but she decided against an attack. That would waste time.

"Flanking hostiles, ninety degrees from the window." She called into the comm. Then she continued running. She went through open doors, rolled underneath various gardens, and even vaulted a few fences. Her HUD lit up the direction and distance from her to her objective. All she had to worry about was getting there. Sprinting full-tilt across the encampment like a shadow out of the void, it didn't take long.

She skidded to a halt just half a block from Vega's position. She counted thirteen hostile forces attempting to gain the upper hand, but they apparently felt that getting closer would be a terrible idea. At least they had _some_ grasp of tactical assessment. It took only moments for her to formulate a plan.

"Lieutenant-Commander Vega." She whispered. "Can you hear me?"

"Just fine!" He replied. "I'm guessing you're my backup?"

"Just so. Listen very closely - when you hear pistol fire, wait seven heartbeats, then join the fray on your right side." She instructed.

"Wait, wh-" he began, but she cut off their comm link before he could ask unnecessary questions. She hoped he had the presence of mind to follow along. she took out another drone and gave it instructions to move across the battlefield from her before firing on the batarian unit. The small orb obliged, taking the long path around. She made sure her Phalanx had proper armor-penetration already installed into its systems. Then, satisfied, she waited.

The unit in front of her react almost unanimously to the 'threat' of the drone, turning to fire as one. Sloppy. Panicky. But she didn't mind. She jumped up and closed the distance silently. The first one fell to a broken neck, as did the second. By the time the drone had been destroyed, she was already firing and moving simultaneously. Her pistol made a neat hole in the head of another.

She slid under one's legs and used her new position to kick a knee loose. She launched herself back up to a standing position and grabbed the now-kneeling batarian's head as a launching point. She leveled a double kick to the helmet of the one she'd slid underneath and used that momentum to flip and twist over the batarian whom she had a grip on. His neck snapped, too. Five seconds, four deaths, one unconscious. She was displeased that her progress was so slow.

Vega popped up exactly seven human adrenaline-fueled heartbeats later and began to fire, as instructed, on the right-side group. The ones on his left, Vaya was already taking care of. She landed in a crouch and pulled her omni-blade, turning a batarian to her left into a paraplegic in short order. She barely stopped for more than half an instant, and rolled away just as rounds struck against the dirt where she had been.

She propelled herself from a roll to a cartwheel and cut a head in half, landing with a jolt by driving the blade deep into another skull. She raised her pistol and removed another imminent danger. She spun on a heel, getting into position behind one of the now-few living opponents, and grabbed him from behind, around the neck. His own comrades executed him, leaving Vaya free to distribute more rounds into each. One yet remained on her side, so she kicked her prisoner into him and took his momentary loss of guard to disarm him, knock his breath loose, trip him, and pin his heart into the dirt by way of her blade in one blinding series of punches and kicks.

She stood and turned. Vega appeared to have killed the rest of them. Though, she noticed a few moving chests, including the one she had merely kicked off of earlier. She made it a point to walk around in a circle, answering intakes of breath with execution.

"Who...the hell..._are_ you?" Vega had his weapon hanging loosely at his side, and was staring at her with not-at-all-disguised amazement.

"Corporal Dalias Vaya." She said shortly. "For the remainder of this mission, however, 'ma'am' will be fine." She took the opportunity to check her omni-tool, and by extension, the location of the Defense building. It was close. Very close.

Her comm unit crackled to life and, from Vega's expression, so did his. They both listened in quietly as an unfamiliar voice took the distant stage.

"...Repeat, this is Security Chief Jacob Taylor. Is anyone out there? We detected new linkups to our system..."

Vaya nodded Vega down and synched her unit to the new signal for a reply. "Chief Taylor, this is Corporal Vaya with the Normandy SR-3. What is your status, over?"

Jacob was apparently momentarily shocked into silence. "SR...? We're in pretty deep, Corporal. Most of my force is dead and we have hostiles in the labs. Please tell me you have an army topside."

"No, Chief. I apologize, but the two of us are all you have."

Another stunned silence. "_Two_? There are two of you? There are at least a few dozen hostiles down here, plus a whole lot more above ground!"

"And we are heavily outmatched." She finished. "The thought crossed my mind. Where are you?"

"Just behind the first lab levels. In a vent." He sounded as though he wasn't surprised by his predicament, merely mildly annoyed. "Listen - they disabled the security systems before you came in here. If you can get to that building..."

"That was our main objective, Chief." Vaya assured him. "I must ask that you hold position until we complete it. Then we will come for you."

"Sounds good." Jacob murmured. "Not like I'm going anywhere any time soon. Just...hurry, all right?"

"With all speed." Vaya confirmed. The line went silent. She nodded to Vega and started off north, towards the Defense building. Their path was, for the most part, clear - unfortunately, it seemed as though most of the invaders were busy dealing with Garrus and Kaidan. But, as they approached, it became apparent that the building itself wasn't guarded, either.

"Why isn't there anyone here?" Vega was, apparently, just as confused by this turn of events. "Do we have the right building?"

Vaya nodded and looked around. No traps that she could see...but that didn't necessarily mean there weren't any. She made a snap decision to do something stupid. "We can question our good fortune later. Cover me." Before he could protest, Vaya broke into a run. She made it up to the door and paused. She rationalized that since she wasn't dead yet, it was a good start. She made sure he pistol had a fresh thermal clip and pushed open the door. She stuck her head inside. No guards. Just consoles. Something definitely wasn't right here.

* * *

Of all the places Jacob had to hide in the past, he thought that a cooling vent was hardly the worst. If he started doing a guide to the galaxy's best hiding places in the event of a batarian attack, he'd give it a solid six, six point five.

He heard movements around him constantly. Bootsteps, faint shouting, even occasional gunfire. No one had found him yet, but that didn't give him an excuse to stop. He slowly inched his way toward the security department again. His office. Full of turrets closed off from the main hub and a lot of guns. A last-stand sort of place.

"Chief Taylor." The flanging voice from earlier was back in his ear. "I'm at the defense hub."

"Good." He whispered. "The code for activation-"

"I can't activate it."

"What?" Jacob asked, alarmed. "Why not?"

"Someone has rearranged the IFF protocols. Everything is reading as hostile."

"That's not..." Jacob wanted to end that one with 'possible', but in actuality, it probably was possible. But how, was the question.

"Chief, this is very important." Vaya continued. "What is the enemy objective?"

"They didn't tell me." Jacob informed her sardonically. "Could be they're abducting colonies again."

"If so, why this one?" Vaya didn't sound convinced. "What does it have that a planet in the Terminus does not?"

"The scientists." Jacob was starting to catch on to her line of thinking, and he didn't like the picture it was painting.

"On Eletania, we encountered evidence that Cerberus intends to manufacture a new line of Collector. But they keep failing. Improper genetic sequencing."

"And they need geneticists to do it right. We've got the best, lined up right here." Jacob felt like smashing his fist into the side of the vent, but that would have blown his cover. "Damn it. Cerberus...I thought we were done with them. You think the batarians are Cerberus, too?"

"No. Though Cerberus appears to have formed an alliance with the Blue Suns."

"Guess they can't be picky about who they sign up with."

"Correct. I believe I have a solution for the IFF sequencing problem. Can you send me your exact location?"

"Sure." It was only a momentary adjustment for his omni-tool, but Jacob had to shuffle forward a bit more so the light wouldn't get him noticed.

"I think I can task the system to tag individuals as friendly. What was the code?"

"Wait. What about the scientists?"

"You will have to send me their locations so that I can input them before I activate the security systems in a given area. I will be sending my teammate to assist you momentarily."

"Got it. Code's Uniform, Two, Delta, Two, Lima, Romeo, Lima, Romeo, Bravo, Alpha."

"That seems an odd code."

Jacob shrugged. "One of the scientists in the mech division came up with it. I think he was trying to screw around or make a joke."

"The defenses are online aboveground. Inform me when a room is clear or when all friendlies are tagged."

"You got it. When is my reinforcement gonna be here?"

At that moment, he heard faint gunfire coming from the level above. He hefted his sidearm. "Oh." He muttered. "Nevermind."


	24. Chapter 24: Out Of Room

_"Hostage situations are like karaoke - you just want to shoot the guy holding everyone's attention, but it isn't socially acceptable."_

Aside from the bruises, scrapes, damaged tissue, burns, and enough adrenaline to kill a bungee jumper, Vega thought that his initial incursion had gone fairly well. The meaning of which, naturally, being that he wasn't dead. Neither were most of the enemies on that level of the complex, but he'd take what he could get.

Vaya had informed him that he'd be meeting up with the Science Team's head of security inside, and he was hoping that this individual would be as fast as he could. Having so many people shooting at him made for a not-particularly-shining view into his immediate future. A bullet grazed past his face and took out a chunk of the wall he was hiding behind, and another thought occurred to him; his cover was crap, too.

He returned some weak fire around the corner blindly. His weapon automatically swapped to the backup shells some time ago, which meant that his incendiary upgrades were doing exactly nothing, and the opposing shields and armor much more. He reflected that it was much more difficult to kill someone if they not only had several friends firing at you, but your gun required more than a half dozen pinpoint shots just to do the job.

That wasn't to say he hadn't done so, of course. At least four bodies littered the corridor within minutes, but it was still relatively slow going.

However, when a vent popped open behind enemy lines, Vega had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't going to mean more trouble for _him_.

The wiry man rolled out from his hidden cover and immediately liquidated two nearby heads. Not only did the skulls literally explode, but a flaming cluster of shrapnel spiraled out from each, piercing the armor and flesh of their former compatriots. Vega only realized a few seconds too late that his rescuer had a shotgun. Two headshots while rolling without any firing pause with a shotgun.

He needed to get the guy some flowers, stat.

New Shotgun (Vega made a mental note to come up with a better name - calling this guy 'New Shotgun' made him feel sick) did a brief check on the surrounding area, to make sure he had actually eliminated all of the hostile threats. One of the batarians was writhing in pain on the ground, still on fire. Skulltrimmer (marginally better) took care of that problem immediately, choosing to use his pistol rather than consume unnecessary shotgun rounds.

Vega let his rifle hang loosely at his side while he approached. "Nice shooting. You the guy from the radio?"

He nodded. "Security Chief Jacob Taylor. I'm guessing you're my backup."

"Sure am. You got a plan?"

Jacob nodded. "Sweep and clear. This entire complex has enough mechanical security to level a small city. We paint friendlies, the Corporal uploads their coordinates, and a room's clear."

"That easy, huh?" Vega asked, impressed.

Jacob shook his head. "Maybe not. We've still got to avoid fire until locations get uploaded. And if they're using human shields, we need to take them down personally."

"So we got nukes." Vega sighed. "You have any spare clips? My gun's only got the gauss backups left, and those aren't so hot if I need a quick fix."

"Yeah." Jacob tossed him two thermal clips, with the unspoken implication that he should use them wisely. "Shoot to kill. We don't need any mistakes here." Or perhaps not so unspoken.

"Sure thing." Vega nodded. "Lead the way."

Jacob obviously had all of the door codes, so their entrance to the next room was hardly stunning. However, they encountered no further firefights for some time. The silence should have been gratifying, but it made them both nervous.

"They can't all be in the lower levels, can they?" Vega asked.

"Maybe." Jacob conceded. "Makes sense, if whoever they want is down there."

"_Who_ever." Vega repeated. "You got a theory?"

"Yeah." Jacob didn't look happy about it. "I guess they need someone good with genetics. Something about making more Collectors. Why and how and...well, everything else? Shot in the dark."

"So they need a scientist." Vega thought aloud. "Maybe more than one. Could be they're doing a roundup."

"Something else I thought of, too." Jacob's scowl was growing deeper the longer he considered their mission. "Most of what these guys were able to do here...I know the defenses around this place like the back of my hand. You can't just walk in and turn some of this off. You need to be _in_ the system."

"Like clearance." Vega said, catching on quickly. "Someone on the inside turning all this off, giving the batarians directions on how to get in."

"Exactly." Jacob turned before opening the next door. His face was set, determined. But his manner still seemed ill-at-ease. "I didn't even think about it before, but Cerberus being involved makes sense. If they got their hooks into one of the scientists here...hell, most of them used to be in the organization."

Something clicked in that moment, for Vega. "Wait, ex-Cerberus scientists? You aren't the same guys from Arrae, are you?"

"Most of us, yeah." Jacob confirmed. "Huh. Thought your profile looked familiar. You were with Shepard, right? Pulled us out of the fire?"

"Sure was." Vega put a hand over his chest dramatically. "I'm surprised you didn't remember me right away."

Jacob scratched the back of his head. "Well, honestly, I was kind of distracted at the time. Shepard, the crumbling base, that prothean..."

Vega snorted. "Pfft. Showstealer."

Jacob held up his hands defensively. "Don't get me wrong, I was grateful then and I'm grateful now. Sure as hell didn't expect someone from the Normandy crews to show up. Anyone else with you? The Corporal said there were just two of you, but..."

"Two of us available for the assist, yeah." Vega paused, then. His next answer brought up a few questions of its own that he had to answer before he went on. He wasn't sure he could even handle the possibility of Garrus and Kaidan not having survived long enough to be rescued. He had to keep believing that they still had time. Otherwise... "Garrus...Garrus and Kaidan came planetside to help. Liara, too. Last I heard, they were pinned and waiting for us to clear the complex. Mission first. I have some marines with us, but...I don't know what happened to them."

"Damn it." Jacob muttered. "We're gonna have to rush it, then. Get finished and topside quick enough to help them out. It's not like this was already easy, anyway."

"'Specially with Harbinger here..." Vega remarked, largely without thinking.

Jacob had his hand halfway to the door's activation terminal when he stopped cold. "_Harbinger's_ here? How?"

Vega shrugged. "Hell if I know, _camarada_. But I'm sticking with my best guess of 'bad news'."

"You understand what's happening, here?" Jacob asked heatedly. "If Harbinger's involved, it doesn't matter how, or even why. It means the Reapers are involved. And if Cerberus is helping them again..." His face paled notably. "We have to get to the scientists!"

"Isn't that what we were just-?"

"_Now!_"

* * *

Aside from the danger, location inside of a warzone, and eminent worry of being killed in a sudden and ignominious manner, Vaya found it remarkably easy to concentrate. The defense systems didn't come with mapping, so she couldn't tell where her teammates were or how they were faring. All she was able to record were their life signs, and even those were limited by whose information she had to keep track of. T'Soni and Vega's marines were effectively MIA, so she had no idea as to their conditions.

Even so, she had a job to do. The moment she caught wind of an IFF signal, she needed to input the location immediately. Any hesitation or distraction could cost lives. The mission came first. Not that she wasn't paying any attention to the world around her. While her eyes were focused on the input screen, her other senses were primed for recognizing any hostile contact. She refused to be caught off guard. She wouldn't allow it to compromise her or her record. Not twice, anyway.

She still had to weigh the risks of preparing a defense - it was a necessary step, but could cost her crucial awareness. For example, how to deal with whatever was creating the approaching footsteps without leaving her post?

Her breathing quickened as she allowed the adrenaline already building itself in her veins to takes its course. It might give her the right amount of extra alacrity at the cost of some of her accuracy. But in such close quarters, her calculated risk was upon the basis that accuracy wouldn't matter very much. She drew her pistol and exhaled slowly. After all, it only took one round.

When the door opened, she was ready. One leg lifted, aiming very carefully so as to maximize potential impact area. It didn't hit their hand, but her foot struck the arm with enough force that her new foe dropped their weapon and went sprawling.

She launched herself at them, and her own arm snapped out at the interior control panel. The door closed once more. When she landed, her hand was gripping an armored throat, her weapon pressed against a temple.

Black eyes locked. It took her a painfully long half-second to comprehend what he was saying.

"Nae that I mind this p'rticular position, lassie, but...did ye have tae rough me up firs'?"

"Lokkan." She growled. First she felt relief, then mild distaste. "This is...a coincidental posture."

"Noticed ye're nae in a hurry ta get off." She really would rather have struck him, but she pushed herself up to her feet, muttering vaguely-defined and grisly promises directed at the engineer.

He rose as well, grunting all the while. She could tell that he'd been wounded, though not to a particularly great extent. While her thought about it being such a pity was sarcastic, she genuinely hoped he could still work his shotgun. "Seen anyone else?" He asked.

"No." She told him, turning her back so as to resume focus on the defense systems. "Vega reported that you were dead."

"Well I lost sight of 'im, an' th' marines too, fer a wee bit." He scratched beneath his fringe. "Bastarts rigged th' comm building. Beam nearly caved in my skull. Drew in some hostiles righ' quick, too."

Vaya nodded noncommittally, busy with her thoughts. That just left three members of the various teams unaccounted for. Which...had been the situation forty seconds prior. Perfect.

"'Ey, Corp'ral." Lokkan said softly. At the edge of her vision, Vaya saw him pick up his shotgun and take up a position by the door. "You see Mavarr come by?"

She nearly lost her internal composure. Of _course_, the scientific liaison. She hadn't even asked Vega about his status. She recalled only that her thought process at the time had been something akin to 'objectives now, body count later'. She was used to that assessment, but thinking of another turian as a casualty number still felt wrong to her.

"No. Vega was alone when we made contact, and I...did not ask."

"Huhn. Prob'ly ran to a buildin'. Good on 'im." His tone indicated that he was trying to convince himself, but wasn't buying it. Vaya didn't buy it either, but she didn't say so. "No civvies on th' front, aye?"

"Aye..." Vaya replied, too absently to notice her accidental mimicry until it was too late. "I mean, yes." His bark of laughter only served to worsen her temper. All of that became irrelevant when her omni-tool flashed. She input the coordinates into the IFF system. "They are on the move again..." Normally her commentary would be internalized, but she decided that Lokkan may as well know what was going on. Her omni-tool flashed three more times in quick succession, and she blinked. "Very quickly."

* * *

Despite what should have been, for them, typically easy odds in a routine firefight, Kaidan thought that their continued defense was going terribly.

Thanks, no doubt, to Bravo Team, the compound's defense systems had kicked in during a particularly overwhelming raid attempt. Garrus had sustained a leg wound, and Kaidan had only narrowly avoided having his head removed. But even the turrets and mechs weren't enough. There were simply too many hostiles in the force. They had severely underestimated exactly how many there actually were. All they had left were a few moments' breathing room provided by their dwindling extra resources.

Therefore, the Atlas was honestly the last thing they expected.

It struck like thunder, completely out of the blue. The only warning any of them had was a faint whistling sound, like a giant falling brick. Then the machine crashed feet-first into the hard ground. For a moment, everything was still. Then, it rose to full height, guns beginning to whir.

The offensive line broke before bodies even began to hit the dirt. Rockets flew in various directions, grenades were wildly tossed, and while the batarians managed to hit several times with their small arms, the machine was just as much a juggernaut as it was designed to be. By the time it had only just begun its killing spree, there was nothing left to shoot. Except possibly Garrus and Kaidan, who still couldn't quite believe their eyes.

The main hatch opened, the air from inside mixing into the planet's atmosphere. Their savior clambered out with a pistol in hand and sprinted over to their cover, which resembled less a building and more a pile of selective rubble.

"Status report?" Shepard asked, kneeling down for a better position in which to apply medi-gel.

"Now? Fine." Garrus tried to come off as playful, but his leg was still aching. Bullet wounds were like that.

"Cute." They could tell she was rolling her eyes behind the helmet. "Looks like you'll have to take it slow. And I wouldn't rely on that leg too much."

"Commander..." Kaidan began hesitantly. "Not to say I'm ungrateful, but...I thought Dr. Chakwas confined you to the ship?"

"She did." Shepard confirmed. "But while I'm disbarred from active ground support, operating heavy machinery is perfectly within my limits."

"You'll be staying in the Atlas, then?" Garrus inquired.

Shepard shook her head roughly. "Not a chance. Comms are out, remember? The doctor can't inform me that I'm outside of my medical boundaries. And hell is going to freeze over before I let my team get shot at without me while I can still stand."

"_Damn_ I love you." Garrus said.

"What are we going to do with that?" Kaidan asked, pointing behind them at the Atlas. He was clearly eager to steer away the conversation from its current direction. "And where did you get it?"

"Apparently EDI and Joker got permission to store one aboard the Normandy, 'just in case'." Shepard shrugged. "I'm not going to complain about it."

"Uh-huh..." Garrus smirked. "And which of them suggested this plan of yours?"

"EDI." Shepard said unflinchingly. "She had to...what was her phrase? 'Logic the hell out of' Dr. Chakwas first, but I've got to hand it to her, it was impressive. That, and I think she was honestly eager to get me in the field as opposed to watching me slowly succumb to insanity without any field reports."

"As for what we're going to do with it, I have a suggestion." Garrus said, motioning to his leg. "I might slow you down alone, but I think I can drive one of those."

"You just want to pilot a walking tank." Shepard told him accusingly.

"Obviously." He nodded.

She sighed. "Get on it. Kaidan, you're with me. What's the situation?"

"On last count?" Kaidan asked, running through the list mentally. "Vega and Jacob are clearing the science compound, Corporal Vaya is running the defense systems, some marine reinforcements are MIA and we don't have word from Liara on her status. I'm going to guess that means she's fine."

"Jacob _and_ James are here?" Shepard sighed. "Damn it, they don't know I'm alive again yet, do they? Maybe Joker's cosmic scoreboard will give me points for making the mission surreal and awkward at once."

"I think Kaidan and I can both agree that getting your ass saved by a ghost has a lasting effect." Garrus pointed out. "Not necessarily a bad one."

"Thanks for the...comforting thought."

"No problem. Hey, this thing has a cupholder? I think I know why Joker wanted to keep it around..."

"Wait." Shepard held up a hand, facing Kaidan. "What about Lokkan? What's his status?"

Even with the barrier of metal between her and the world, Shepard could feel the ambient temperature drop in despair. "He's...he's gone, Commander."

The shocking part of it all was how little she felt at the news. The blow was softened by repetition, by experience. By war. She'd woken up from the Reaper conflict only to be thrust into a new one. No real time for recovery. Only action. All the soldier's she'd watched die before most likely had funerals, graves. Even herself. But she hadn't been to any of them. She'd gotten too used to the term 'KIA'. She could still cling to the emotion of loss, but only barely.

The numbness she was feeling was nigh-unbearable. She wished she could break down at the news that one of her crew, even someone she hadn't known particularly well, had fallen in battle. But she had to press on. She always had to press on.

"We'll arrange a service when we get back." It sickened her, how unintentionally toneless her voice sounded. Would it kill her to sound disheartened, at least? Probably. She refused to stay still long enough to see the faces of her companions. Illogical, since all of them were covered. But logic wasn't really her primary concern.

Instead, she tapped her omni-tool and opened a short-range link. "Corporal Vaya, this is Commander Shepard, do you read?"

"Yes, Commander." She hardly sounded surprised, which was either commendable or disturbing. She'd decide which later. "Do we have communications with the Normandy again?"

"Negative, I'm planetside."

"I see. I assume you need an update?"

"That'd be nice."

"I am currently guiding Security Chief Taylor and Lieutenant-Commander Vega through the science complex. The Identify-Friend-and-Foe measures are unresponsive to general overrides, and we are being forced to manually insert the locations of nonhostiles."

"We?" Shepard asked.

"Well, I." Vaya sounded suddenly toxic. "Lokkan is only guarding the door."

"Lokkan?" Shepard asked, a jolt running through her. Kaidan and Garrus responded in kind, suddenly paying much closer attention to the conversation. "I thought he was..."

"Aye, well." The accented flange itself broadcasted across their frequency. "Reports of me death've been grea'ly exacerbated. Wait, damn it. Tha's nae how it went, was it?"

"Twain aside, it's good to hear you're all right." Shepard said.

"Mmph. I though' so too."

"Perhaps we can celebrate later?" Vaya said shortly. "I believe Taylor and Vega could use your assistance, Commander."

"Agreed." Shepard said, nodding assent. "Garrus, Kaidan, keep a perimeter outside the compound. The Atlas is going to need support with more maneuverability."

"And you're going in there alone?" Kaidan asked.

Shepard shook her head. "Knowing James and Jacob, I'll only be alone while following the trail of bodies." She tapped her comm unit. "Vaya, I'm sending you my coordinates. Lock me into the IFF system. If you feel up to multitasking, try getting Liara into contact with us, too. I'd feel better knowing her status."

* * *

The door, just like all the others previous, was unlocked. Jacob might have had some harsh words in mind for whoever was in charge of security during this crisis, but unfortunately recognized that it was him. Which made their ease of access not only disconcerting, but embarrassing. It was possible that techs ahead of them had simply hacked the consoles that controlled door functions, of course, or that whoever had reconfigured the defense systems had reset the doors as well, but that didn't make him feel any better.

In the back of his mind, behind his concern about the infrastructure of the compound, he was pleased that nothing was holding them back from reaching their destination; the labs. If the batarian force had any kind of interest in the place, that was where they'd be, or would once corralled. Incidentally, that was the entire secondary point of the lab levels. They were wide open, with plenty of automated security and little cover. Not to mention several dead ends. They'd been designed to be not just the only place a hypothetical invading group would retreat to, but also become the doom of said group.

It was the reaching the labs in the first place which held the difficulty. Not because of the doors, but more because of the large amount of hostiles in front of them. Harbinger obviously wanted to make sure he had as much time as possible to complete whatever goals he had and, while he and Vega had some theories in that regard, it was mostly a shot in the dark. It was possible he was looking for a geneticist, or possibly some technology, maybe a recent progress. Hell, maybe he just wanted to screw up Jacob's life some more.

Whatever the case, he'd certainly been thorough and forward-thinking. Jacob still recalled with clarity that it was a very annoying trait for a Reaper to have. And they all had it. Every new room needed to be approached like a mine because, without exception, there were human shields on the other side. Standing still with one hand around a struggling civilian and one hand gripping a pistol was clearly not a comfortable position, but by virtue of either discipline or fear, each soldier did exactly that.

It was a testament to the experience of the intruding pair that none of them ended up with their brains on the floor, not that they cleared a particular room with any sort of brevity. In Jacob's opinion, they wasted time with every shot fired and, aside from brief notices to stay put, they barely provided any freed staff with a moment of time.

And through it all, he never caught a glimpse of who he actually wanted to see.

Jacob and Vega stopped cold eventually, slamming their sides against a wall on either side of the next door. Jacob had memorized the complex enough to know what was behind it. He held his hand up, his breath coming out quick and lightly strained from exertion. "This stairway goes down a level, and then we're in the labs. Three rooms, no cover, so we need to be quick."

"And then?" Vega asked.

Jacob shook his head. "And then nothing. If they try to run, it's just a dead end."

"So it's in the bag as long as we're careful." Vega surreptitiously deactivated the phosphorous casings he'd mounted next to his thermal clip. "Got it."

"Check for mines every step." Jacob said, opening the door. "I don't think these guys are as stupid as we think they are."

The stairwell wasn't trapped (in case, Jacob surmised, they needed to make a quick exit), but that only made his internal alarm go off much more insistently. Something was going to go wrong, and the only thing he wanted to know at this point was what. When they finally got a good view of the first lab area, it became unpleasantly clear.

Most of the equipment that used to be part of the scenery had been either dismantled, in the case of a few consoles, or pushed to a corner. That left the center clear for the main 'attraction'. Fresh corpses littered the floor, scientists without exception. Each suffered from a single gunshot wound to the center of the forehead, execution-style. Jacob recognized each one. Department heads, mostly. A few unlucky assistants who might have been chosen due to possible knowledge of...security? He honestly couldn't find a reason for all of them to have been killed like this. It was barbaric.

Red began to color the edge of his vision, and he suddenly couldn't hear anything over the roaring in his ears. A movement brought him back down to earth somewhat; his arm felt like it was moved suddenly of its own accord. When he looked down, he realized that he'd been gripping his weapon so tightly that he fired a cluster of rounds directly into the ground. A small part of him was happy his foot wasn't perforated. Another questioned what that mattered when just one bullet had ended the lives of so many other good people.

He certainly was no stranger to losing civilians or even soldiers, but this was different. He knew their names, their stories, their families. Each one had put their faith into him, trusted that he could keep them safe. So much for that.

"Hey there, _papá lobo_." Vega put his left shoulder into an iron grip that the marine probably thought was some kind of reassuring. Jacob wanted to knock him out. Reassuring...with all of this? The only thing that could have done that was setting fire to whoever ordered the massacre. Whoever ordered the attack. That thought made him remember something. He glanced downward and, sure enough, he still had incendiary rounds locked and ready to go.

"Keep your head on," Vega continued. "You'll need it. We'll get these guys, but not if our aim's low."

"Yes." Jacob growled. He didn't trust himself to articulate much more. He inhaled, slowly. Then out. It didn't help. He would have called the psych evaluator out on it, but he was lying in a pool of his own blood a few paces away.

They moved to cover and open the door in what was close to unison, though Jacob distracted himself in a minor capacity by searching the walls nearby for a terminal he could access to see what was going on inside. Unfortunately, the only one available had been short-circuited. Not exactly subtle, but at least he'd been right about their intelligence. Somewhat. They _had_ pissed him off, after all. That would end up being a very bad move for them.

The door opened instantly at his touch. Unlike a traditional doorway, behind it lay a medium-length, somewhat narrow passage that opened into the second lab area. Like the last, pieces had been moved around and electronics destroyed. Practically the only thing they left were the lights. However, that wasn't the part that drew his attention.

There were four people who occupied the lab. The most visible, a batarian in the heaviest armor Jacob had seen so far, who had a gun pressed firmly against the head of a dark-skinned little girl. He seemed to be arguing with a woman to his right, while a man to the side stood fairly passively for someone in a life-or-death situation. Jacob didn't know who this batarian leader or commando or whatever was, but he knew the other three immediately. Michelle Taylor, Brynn Cole, and Liam Gadschalk. His daughter, his wife, and the engineer in charge of mechanical security, respectively.

His vision turned red again.

"-Head..." The batarian was saying. His helmeted head turned towards Jacob when he opened the door, and he suddenly sounded amused. Needless to say, this only served to irk Jacob even more. "Huh. Visitors. I figured my 'army' wasn't worth a damn. Well how about your two drops those guns before I make a mess?" He nudged some of Michelle's hair out of place with his weapon for emphasis.

As much as Jacob wanted to set the invader on fire, his instincts as a father took precedence. Slowly, reluctantly, he leaned forward and placed his shotgun on the ground. Behind him, he heard movement which indicated that Vega was doing the same. Brynn, nearby, closed her eyes, like she had expected this, but didn't like it.

"Finally, some cooperation." The batarian shook his head. "I'm guessing you're the legendary security chief here?" He said 'legendary' with such irony in his tone that it left no room to guess exactly what he thought of Jacob's efforts. That was fine with him. He felt the same, just the other way around. "Maybe you can give me the codes so I can get what I want and leave."

"Depends on what you're here for." Jacob replied, trying desperately to keep his voice calm.

"Ehh, decisions, decisions." He shrugged. "I'll just go with everything you have digitally stored. Figure out the exacts later."

"Look..." Jacob took a step forward. _Just talk_. He thought. _Buy some time._ "Nobody else has to die, here. We can work something out."

"I just told you that, idiot." He said impatiently. "And don't come any closer."

"I can give you the codes," Jacob continued, moving again. "But we-"

"I said don't come any closer!" He shouted, raising his pistol and pointing it directly at Jacob. That was what he'd been waiting for. Accelerating from tentative footsteps to a sprint, he ducked to one side and launched a biotic projectile at the hostage-taker. The weapon discharged, and Jacob's shoulder felt like it would burst with pain, but the move had done its job. The batarian went flying back, as did his weapon.

Vega's reflexes didn't fail him, either - his omni-tool was out in a flash, transmitting the coordinates of the other three to Vaya. "Lab room two!" He shouted. "Now!"

The turian was quick on the uptake. Right on cue, several turrets lowered themselves from the ceiling. It didn't take long for them to warm up, nor for the commando to realize what was going on. He barely had time to scream before the machinery perforated him with dozens of high-velocity rounds.

Jacob let his head rest none too gently on the floor. One hand kept pressure on his shoulder while he winced and tried to breath. He'd had worse, and he was sure he'd live. Didn't stop the pain, though.

"Nice plan." Vega sounded mildly relieved, a feeling that Jacob privately shared.

While Liam was backpedalling, trying to get enough space to breathe, Brynn shoved Vega out of the way and crouched down next to him. "Are you all right?" She asked.

Jacob nodded. "I'll live. What about you?"

"Just a few bruises." She shook her head. "He must have really wanted that data."

"What do you think he was looking for?" Jacob inquired.

"He wasn't very forthcoming, like you saw." She exhaled softly. "What's going on here, Jacob?"

Jacob sighed. "Wish I knew. The important thing is, they didn't get what they came for."

**"Incorrect."** Perfect. The last voice Jacob ever wanted to hear. He looked up and, sure enough, there was a collector body he recognized. The insectoid biped was glowing, light tracing across its skin like its veins were filled with plasma. Jacob waited for the turrets to waste him, but they continued turning as though nothing was wrong.

Vega raised his weapon, but a blast of concussive force knocked him and everyone else in the second lab room who weren't already on the ground down. **"You have disrupted my plans, as usual. But this will continue."**

Jacob's vision blurred slightly as he tried to simultaneously lift himself to his feet and figure out what Harbinger was doing. His damaged arm screamed in protest, and he soon found himself fully prone again. He strained to lift his head, and for a wild moment thought that Harbinger had sprouted another pair of legs. But then he realized that there was someone behind him.

"Wrong." Why was that voice so familiar? "End of the line, Harbinger." Like something out of a dream...

Harbinger's head turned. He considered whoever was behind him for a long few seconds. **"Shepard." **He mused.

Then his fist slammed into the door controls, and the entrance between lab rooms closed.


	25. Chapter 25: No Finality

_"Power? You _wish_ you had as much power over three lifetimes as I have in one finger."_

She'd expected the bodies.

Several dozen of them, filling every square of the formerly-impeccable halls and rooms with crimson liquid that used to reside within them. Some had obviously struggled before passing, their flailing having increased the spread of blood across each area. Whoever had killed them didn't even bother to check beyond if they had missed a shot.

She'd expected the bodies.

She hadn't expected that she would care so little about them.

There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she felt _something_. A twinge, perhaps, in time with each boot step over yet another lifeless corpse. To her, they merely registered as casualties. She didn't know them, nor would she ever, and so they were instinctively filed in the rapidly growing folder labeled 'losses of war'.

Much as it had before, this thought process sickened her even more than the barbarity of the killing itself. Like she had suddenly lost all empathy, but that it was somehow _necessary_. Maybe she hadn't lost her humanity. Not yet. She clung to the belief that as long as she was still fighting, she still had something to fight for, to die for, like a lifeline.

But she suspected that slowly, surely, it was leaking out of her like the blood from the corpses she refused to view as people.

At a full sprint, the journey to the lower levels, and the labs, was not a long one. To her chagrin, it gave her more than enough time to consider those thoughts. But, to her relief, she didn't have as much time as she thought.

The door between labs two and one opened. She saw that the second door was also open, and that there were people within, but she couldn't make out who. Only that they were moving - some barely at all. Somehow, she knew what she was seeing before her eyes physically registered seeing it. Like the presence had somehow grown so familiar during her time asleep that she could simply sense it when it was nearby. Her least favorite Reaper was in the middle of some stupid villainous speech that she only caught the latter half of.

**"You have disrupted my plans, as usual. But this will continue."** Whoever was making him agitated with the loss of his plans so much that he had elected to venture down there personally, Shepard wanted to give them flowers. Maybe a cake.

Harbinger must have had some time to hone their 'connection' (Shepard nearly blanched at the thought) as well, because his head turned instantly when she arrived. Deciding instantly that she might as well put up a cover of surety, she said the first thing that came to mind.

"Wrong. End of the line, Harbinger." She believed it, too. She'd beaten worse foes than he one-on-one. Well, usually three-on-one, but the collector form as she remembered it wasn't nearly strong enough to stand up to her on a good day. And while she wasn't having a particularly good day, she did have one advantage: She was _furious_.

Maybe that counted for something.

Harbinger's glowing four eyes locked with where her two were behind her helmet. She counted the heartbeats within which they merely stared one another down. They matched the pounding behind her ears, the throbbing of the headache she was giving herself. She recognized that she was subconsciously kicking her amps into gear, and let it release a few charges at a time. It was akin to embracing an old friends, letting the power flow through and around her, strengthening her resolve.

**"Shepard."** Harbinger said simply. Did he sound...amused? Shepard grimaced. If he was amused, it was only because he didn't realize exactly how horribly he was about to die.

* * *

Like so many other actions, it was all instinctual for her. Her pistol was drawn, her legs were moving in a spin, and her arm was outstretched before she realized what she was doing. She let loose a barrage of small arms fire first, to soften up whatever armor he might have, then launched her biotics.

Two orbs of pure force swung around in a pincer shape, tracing the symbol in the air with wisps of biotic energy as they crashed into the Reaper with enough force to turn the wall behind him into a smoking crater. But he had better reflexes than she assumed. The moment she began to move, so did he. He let the bite of her pistol sink into his armor, but slid to one side when she tossed her real opener. His head only barely managed to lower in time, but both blue orbs hit the wall instead of him and, just like she predicted, made a dent the size of the bomb from Virmire.

The thought of Virmire, of Ashley, brought even more venom into her actions. She projected a barrier in front of her and, rather than charge, pushed it forward. A solid wall of crackling blue energy slammed into Harbinger, sending him stumbling back. Shepard stopped her movements for one amazed moment; he should not have been able to withstand that much force.

**"Amusing."** Harbinger stood to his full height, and his bright orange body lacings turned to a dark shade of purple. Before Shepard knew what was going on, he thrust his arm forward, producing a shockwave that tore straight through what was left of her barrier and pinned her against the wall she'd moved in front of.

Her feet were off the ground; only Harbinger's biotic powers (where had that come from, she wondered) kept her in place. Another memory triggered a possibly insane plan, but at the moment, she wasn't thinking clearly anyways. She barely resisted the urge to shout 'what choice?' like Morinth had done so long ago, and spread all of her limbs outward. Element zero followed her commands, creating an outward blast in all directions. It works like a charm. Harbinger stumbled back, and his concentration broke.

Shepard hit the ground running. As long as she was mercilessly copying tricks off of other biotics, she decided grimly, she might as well run the gamut. She raised her fist and concentrated another burst of power into that one spot. Like a primed grenade, just waiting to go off. Harbinger may have been stunned, but he had enough sense to roll to one side. Her fist slid into the wall in which she'd made a crater like a hot knife into butter. The explosion it made afterwards ended up making a hole bigger than the crater had been.

It left her plenty of room in which to turn in anticipation of Harbinger's next attack. He was buying time now, only bringing a few smaller blasts of energy to bear against her. They bounced off of her barrier like eggshells, but they were weakening it slowly. She almost laughed. This biotic power must have been new to the Reaper, as new as the form he now possessed. Her powers were as natural to her now as breathing.

And she was ready to show this abomination how the game was played.

She moved her left and right arms simultaneously. One focused a spinning whirlwind of energy over her hand, waiting to be fired. The other gripped the most heavyset body she could find and struck Harbinger with it. To his credit, he saw it coming, and slid under the flying scientist without breaking stride. Then the singularity hit right in front of him. Suddenly, every body nearby was circling around him, closing him inside a macabre tornado of limbs and momentum.

Shepard wasn't finished, though. She was just getting started. The various theories of biotic potential swirled around in her head like the twister in front of her, guided by a single concept. _Why not?_ She thought. Slowly at first, then with greater brevity once she began to get the hang of it, she concentrated energy into both of her hands like she'd done hundreds of times when she was ready to move something. But this time, she didn't want to move anything. She wanted to _destroy_ it.

Two more orbs shot off, but these moved more slowly than their telekinetic brethren. Shepard crouched and brought a hand up immediately, covering her body with the strongest barrier she could muster.

Then both warp fields hit.

If her ears hadn't been covered by her helmet, Shepard might have lost her hearing permanently. The explosion caused by two of her strongest disassembling fields striking a singularity in motion at the same time caused a chain reaction like a dozen high explosive devices in close proximity. She closed her eyes against the blinding flash of light and put more energy into her protective field. It very nearly wasn't enough. She could feel her barrier starting to shut down when the aftershock finally stopped.

Hesitantly, she stood up. The lab room looked like a warzone. The explosion had left a scorch mark four meters wide where it originated. Most of the damage to the bodies was concussive - many of them had lost limbs, but the only thing that had actually disintegrated was...

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." She stated bluntly, disbelief warping her words into a sigh of anguish rather than annoyance.

Standing in the center of Ground Zero, fully intact, was Harbinger. And for the first time in her life, she heard a Reaper laugh. It was a chilling, bass sound, like listening to a dozen tortured drums crying out for mercy. Some part of her rational mind had to remind her that he still didn't have any emotional capacity, that it was only intended to demoralize her. Well, she thought lamely, it was working.

For the first time since she'd started the fight, Shepard felt hopeless. He'd survived the best she had thrown at him and was still standing. Not only was it blatantly impossible, it was unnerving.

**"Your time is ending, Shepard. The sooner you realize this..."** He paused to consider his words. **"Your death will last an eternity either way. Embrace it if you must. I already have what I need. But before I depart..."** He held up what looks like a small, metallic spider, but with only six legs. He tossed it on the ground, where it split into another, slightly smaller spider. They continued multiplying before Shepard's eyes, and Harbinger's faux-laughter echoed around the lab again. **"A gift." **He said.

Then, he disappeared. A sparking metal exoskeleton fell to the ground. _Some kind of...holographic interface?_ Shepard thought, feeling cheated. But she soon realized that she had much larger problems. The spider-like objects were skittering around the room. When they found a discarded body, they would latch on to the back of its neck. Within moments, every corpse that still had a torso was twitching and groaning. With rising terror, Shepard recognized the sounds they were making.

She was standing in a room full of husks.

* * *

Vega didn't really know what was going on, but he knew that it was pissing him off.

For some reason, none of them could open the door between labs one and two after Harbinger closed it, even with advanced hacking tools or a running start (in fact, all that latter had done was jeopardize the integrity of his shoulder). Dr. Cole went on some spiel about her theories like 'advanced biotic reinforcement' or 'long-ranged assimilation of their grids'. All he really cared about was that they were stuck, the mission was going downhill (if it wasn't already six feet under), and their friendly neighborhood Reaper was having a tussle with a Shepard who was apparently a spectre in both senses of the word.

That hit him the worst. Not having enough time, enough of a good look to figure if Harbs was telling the truth before the door closed. If he was...she could be getting beat down while they were just standing there.

Vega slammed his fist into the wall. That just made his knuckles hurt. He didn't expect the wall to go all the way punch him back, though. It expanded forward right in front of him, like two baseballs being thrown into the bottom of one of those old-fashioned metal needle 3-D displays. Except this one didn't spring back, it just hung there like a flat-top mountain, inches from his helmet.

"Hell of a fight." He noted calmly.

"Could be they'll break through any minute." Jacob said through clenched teeth. "Brynn, you got any medi-gel?"

Dr. Cole shook her head. "Not on my person. I think there might be some in the equipment, though." She motioned around the ruined lab at the discarded bits of machinery and wrecked stations.

"Right." Jacob set his head back down on the ground. "Brynn, Liam, Vega, get looking. Try and find some extras - last thing I want is for them to come in while our safeties are on. Michelle, I need you to pick a corner and hide the best you can."

The girl didn't look particularly happy about that, but she gave her father a quick hug and dove behind a fairly light exam table that had been turned on its side. Vega was the first one to find an unopened medi-gel container, hidden beneath some processing supplies that looked as though they belonged to a genome-sequencing experiment standby unit. He had no idea what that meant, but that's what it said on the box.

The mountain that had come out of the wall rumbled slightly, and they began to hear more acutely the battle going on behind it. But without visual contact, it was impossible to tell who was winning. Vega paced back to the center of the lab and plugged some of the gel into Jacob's suit. Sweet science did the rest, and soon the security chief was back on his feet, if stiffly.

"Think you can still work that gun, _lobo_?" Vega asked.

"Maybe not the shotgun, but I've got a backup for a reason." Jacob drew a Paladin and grabbed the side of an overturned console. He planted it in front of and to the right of the main entrance and adopted a crouch. "...And stop calling me 'wolf'."

"You'd prefer 'loco', maybe?"

"What I _really_ want you to do is keep quiet..." Jacob muttered.

An explosion, audible even through the several inches of metal that composed the door, cut them both off. It sounded as though someone had detonated a bomb. Or several.

"What. The. Hell." It was phrased as more of a statement on Vega's part, as befitted his disbelief. "Are they playing catch with nukes?"

Jacob sighed. "I don't know anymore."

The door opened. But not the one they were all paying attention to.

The entrance to Lab 3 was already closing by the time they turned around, and Vega caught a glimpse of an array of panels and operating systems behind it. It looked less like a lab and more like some kind of control center, which didn't make sense to him. Then it struck that it must have been a database. And Harbinger had just walked out of it.

Aside from the intense vertigo it caused all of them, Vega noticed right away that no matter what just happened, it was _very bad_ for them.

The Reaper wasted no time; particle beam (wherever he'd gotten it from) already in hand, he blasted a hole clean through Jacob's good shoulder. The security chief groaned and slid down his bit of cover, his sidearm falling loosely out of his grip.

**"Symmetry."** Harbinger remarked.

Dr. Cole leveled her omni-tool and Vega went to fire, but he had to dodge away from the next particle stream and she stopped moving entirely, suddenly encased by a shimmering field of biotic energy.

The door between labs 1 and 2 was summarily blown off of its hinges and clear across the room. It struck Harbinger, stunning him for a brief moment, but not managing to knock him down.

Standing where the door used to be was a woman in red and black N7 armor, pistol in one hand and a biotic orb in the other. In fact, her whole body was glowing, constantly shedding off some the excess blue energy like a very angry sun. Her armor was covered in what looked like gibs, and the suit itself looked like it had taken a beating. The helmet's visor slid up, followed by the rest of it as a mechanism caused it to retract into the neckpiece.

Shepard was giving Harbinger a death glare worthy of a mother bear, and her whole body was shaking. If Vega had to guess, he'd say that part was a lot more from rage than adrenaline. Then again, he couldn't process very much right then. He was too busy being utterly dumbstruck.

"_I'm not finished with you, Reaper._" She snarled.

* * *

The husks weren't the problem.

A swarm of glorified bodies, most of them lacking at least one limb, was not something for Shepard to be afraid of under normal circumstances. The spontaneity - and the shock that came with it - was responsible for most of the terror, not the danger. They didn't even have shields. A distraction at best.

The door wasn't the problem.

While locked down, the security systems clearly didn't account for a biotic punch's fifty-seventh wonderful application. All it took was a solid blow.

In the heat of that moment, her only problem was right in front of her. And if she had any say, it was about to be solved.

The second round wasn't like the first in that it lacked as much volatile spontaneity. Perhaps because this might have been Harbinger's real body, he was more cautious, calculating. Didn't stop him from throwing a desk at her, though.

Shepard took a step forward, flinging it to the side with her left hand, then followed the momentum of her upper body into a spin, pushing a field at Harbinger with her right. The Reaper moved more quickly than she could technically follow, although she could vaguely trace the outlines of his movements before he made them. He ducked his head down and propelled himself forward to a corner of the room outside her line of sight, moving on the metal floor like it was ice.

Shepard rolled past, aiming in the opposite direction. She caught sight of Vega (no one else she knew had that much muscle mass) just before what looked like a civilian in stasis crashed into him and knocked him into the ground. She caught a glimpse of another civilian, a man, cowering in a far corner. That just left Jacob, still leaning against makeshift cover close to the center of the lab. One of his arms looked wounded, but functional. The other...she saw it twitch, but that was all.

Doubt wormed its way into her mind. She liked her chances fighting Harbinger one-on-one, but with allies in the crossfire? Before anything else, she needed to make sure the others were out of the line of fire.

This thought was considered and processed during the seconds in which she mechanically dodged and blocked alternating blasts of biotics and lances of energy. Fortunately, Vega was on the case almost immediately. Hefting the stunned civilian onto her feet, he took up a standing position and began firing bursts into Harbinger's barrier. Each individual shot didn't do very much, but at the distances involved, it was nearly impossible to miss.

Harbinger took a moment to launch a biotic projectile in Vega's direction contemptuously, and that distraction was exactly what Shepard needed. Lowering herself down into a crouch, she lifted Jacob up by the good arm and tossed him as gently as she could into the same section of the room as the cowering scientist. Not particularly comfortable, but it got him out of the fight.

Meanwhile, Vega was having a difficult time of staying on equal grounds with the Reaper. His armor had already been torn through in several places, demonstrating the power that Harbinger's particle beam (Shepard suspected that it was an upgraded design) brought to bear. He was attempting to fire and roll at the same time, but wasn't entirely successful. When he finally wound up in the disadvantageous position of the floor, on his back, with no breathing room, he kicked a nearby canister as hard as he could.

The square receptacle slid the intervening distance at blinding speed, the force nearly knocking Harbinger's legs out from under him. He wound up in a sort of half crouch - one leg bent, knee touching the ground, the other trying to stay at full height - and Shepard took the opportunity to hit him upside the head with some spare biotic energy.

The ball hit him in the face and sent him careening into lab two's side of the crater she'd made earlier. Since it was a protrusion, it stopped him short, but it was too blunt to puncture skin. Chitin. Whatever the hell this thing had. It only took her a few moments to realize where she'd gone wrong; rather than keep the exit secure, she had opted for a better area to maneuver and engage in. It had left the hall between labs two and one wide open.

From what he'd already told her, Harbinger somehow managed to procure whatever data he'd been searching for, so all he needed was an escape route. Sure enough, he immediately bolted down the hall and across the apocalyptic scene that was lab one.

Shepard's strength was already starting to wane, but she took off after him at a full sprint, ignoring Vega's shouts for her to stay back. She couldn't allow him to escape. Not again.

"Garrus, Kaidan!" She shouted into her comm unit midstride. "Harbinger is en route, I repeat: Harbinger is en route! Prepare for his exit, over!"

Some of the spider devices must have crept upstairs while she wasn't looking, because husks barred her path even as she tried to follow Harbinger across the upper levels. She knew from experience that trying to aim a singularity while backpedaling was hard enough, but at a run it would be borderline impossible.

It didn't stop her from trying. The orb was expanding before it left her hand, hitting the center of the room and opening wide to draw all of the nearby husks into it. Meanwhile, she was gaining. Harbinger was only ten meters away. Seven...four...

Suddenly, she was on the ground, gasping for air. Desperately, she threw biotic bursts around the room she was in, to buy herself time, while she tried to figure out what just happened. She caught a glimpse of one of the husk's outstretched arms before it was hit by a blast, and realized that she'd been clotheslined by a mechanical zombie. The thought was...insulting.

She heard footsteps as she tried to get to her feet. Rapid paces, but shuffling gaits. Damn it all, why hadn't she made sure to cover her flanks? Halfway up, a heavy fist collided with the side of her head and sent her careening across the floor. Her vision was blurred, and she couldn't tell how many of them were in front of her. She tried to gather up some of her strength for another blast, but her throbbing skull slammed against a wall.

She did her best to remain conscious, well aware of the horde of husks already pursuing her at a run. Or a crawl, for some. From the vaguely-defined positions of their mouths, Shepard could tell visually that they were howling, but she couldn't hear any sounds aside from a ringing in her ears. As she drew her pistol and opened fire, she wondered if she'd managed to get a concussion. That would have been just perfect.

She fired, and saw, to her dismay, the round leave a small dent in the wall across from her. Then the husk she'd been aiming for fell. She blinked. That had certainly been a miss, or so she thought. Was her spatial recognition suddenly that severely impaired?

She saw a huge white shape slam into a section of the group. She couldn't tell how many of them were left; most of them might have just been rationalizations of flashing movements. Some of them even _looked_ like stars. A bony arm grasped her shoulder. On instinct, she tossed it off with a biotic wave and opened a hole in its skull. _Better aim when I'm not actually aiming._ She thought ruefully.

She tried to get back up to a standing position, but the room spun violently and she slid back down the wall. After a painfully long silence, she started to hear the sounds of gunfire again, even as it was already starting to fade naturally. She looked up; someone had put a meaty hand in front of her face. It took her a moment to process that the owner of the hand was trying to help her up.

"Still rushing in, huh Lola?"

She smiled despite herself and took Vega's hand. His firm grip and strong arm put her on her feet almost immediately. While she struggled to maintain her balance, it was easier on both legs. She nodded, though that didn't exactly help her equilibrium. "Not my best plan, I'll admit."

"Hey, it looked good on my end." Vega still looked like he was trying to decide whether or not he was hallucinating but appeared to be cheering by the moment. "My best is still ramming that shuttle, remember?"

She wanted to laugh at that memory so far off even to her, but she was still on the battlefield. She had to keep a cool head. If not a working head, at least a cool one. She tried to tap her communicator, but poked herself in the temple instead. Rolling her eyes, she made a second attempt, and missed again. Garrus' voice came in on the other end anyway, leaving her to thrown up her arms in exasperation and resume trying to keep the room from spinning.

"Shepard!" He sounded worried sick, bless him. "Shepard, come in, are you there?!"

"I'm here, Garrus." Her voice sounded slurred to her, but hopefully not overly-

"...Did you inhale a few pints while you were down there?" He sounded relieved, but slightly irritated.

"Concussion. I think. Minor." She shook her head. "Did Harbinger get past you? What happened?"

"It's fair to say he got past us." Kaidan was the one who responded, but he sounded short on breath, like someone had punched him in the gut a minute or two prior. "He threw me into a building and flew away."

"Run that by me again." Shepard said. "He _flew_ away?"

"Collectors have wings, remember?" Garrus told her.

Vega tapped his comm and joined in on the conversation. "Oh, hey, Scars." He said casually. "Remind me to kick your ass later."

"Vega? What are you..." Shepard could hear his mind starting at confusion, then turning to suspicion, and then dawning horror when he realized what was going on. "Ah." And then sheepishness. "I...never got around to telling you that Shepard was with us, did I?"

"Yeah, well, that's right up there with 'oh by the way, our collision course includes a sun'." Now Shepard recognized Vega's tone. It sounded exactly akin to their occasional bouts aboard the Normandy, and she wondered whether Garrus recognized that he was being razzed. "And I should know, that one's actually happened."

"Sorry, I was a little busy saving your ass. ...Again." Yep. "Oh, and trying to liberate the facility!"

"Did I become a document when I wasn't looking?" Shepard asked. Both men quieted down. "Good. Hello, James, I'm back. Long story, and I can tell you later. In the meantime, there's the _Reaper we still need to catch_."

"Last we saw, he went Northwest, Commander." Kaidan supplied. "Not sure where he was-"

With a crackle of static, a new voice chimed in over their channel. "-Repeat, this is Lance Corporal Blerinca, does anyone from Alpha or Bravo copy, over?"

Vega jumped in place visibly and nearly tripped over himself responding. "Ben, this is Vega, where the hell are you two?"

"We're at some kind of AA tower a metric long-ass way from your position." A new voice replied. Vega mouthed 'Louis' at Shepard as though that should explain something. "That Vaya chick put us as outside the killzone, but I guess no one told these guys."

"'That Vaya chick' is on this frequency." Vaya responded irritably. There was an awkward silence from Louis' end.

"Maybe Jacob can get us the location." Vega mused. "Meantime, can you two hold out for a few minutes?"

"We've _been_ holding out 'for a few minutes'." Ben remarked. "It's been going delightfully." There was an audible sound of a grenade detonating close to whatever cover they were behind.

"Well, we'll give our ETA wings." Vega assured him, motioned Shepard back down toward the labs. At that point, her head had begun to clear slightly, but she didn't trust her body to keep itself clear in a fight so soon after that physical trauma.

"So, Private Densfield." Vaya began. "When exactly did you begin to consider me an infant?"

Vega chuckled and turned off his end of the comm. Shepard followed suit. "Not the first time Louis's started off badly with a señorita."

"I'm guessing you know him personally."

"Yeah, Ben and Lou, they're on my team. Been in a few scuffles together. You know how it is." Vega took his first good look at the surroundings of the area since he came back to the upper levels. Shepard could see his muscles tense beneath his armor, his fists clench tightly into an iron grip. "You know, there used to be a lot less bodies up here." He explained. "Me and Taylor did a sweep and clear, not one friendly casualty if we could help it. Now they're just...gone. Why would Harbinger even do that?"

"Maybe that's the part we're not supposed to comprehend." Shepard said. At the very least, it helped her view of her own remaining humanity that she couldn't grasp exactly why it had been done. If she couldn't come to terms with what looked like needless slaughter, maybe she'd never be alright with the possibility of it occurring. That was the hope she clung to, at least.

"Still can't believe he's back." Vega exhaled. "Thought we...you...took them all down?"

"The Crucible worked, but..." Shepard hesitated. Was it her place to tell him? Granted, he almost certainly _needed_ to know, especially now. And he was still a compatriot, even after so long. Mind made up, she continued. "They have some kind of shield world. There are more out there, in Dark Space. We have to bring them down before he brings them back."

Vega whistled. "Shit. Sounds like...well, actually, that sounds kind of like Tuesday. 'Least it'll give you the shot to get the band back together. Then again, from the looks of things, you already got a start on that."

"It was mostly Kaidan's initiative." Shepard admitted. "I wasn't...awake...for most of it."

"Hang on a sec, though." Vega sounded suspicious. "If they stuck around because of a shield world, why is Harbinger back alone? If he was with them, wouldn't he have brought the rest?"

Shepard's heart fell slightly. It was coming. "Harbinger...wasn't there when the Crucible activated."

"What?" Vega asked. "Where was he?"

Shepard felt trace amounts of bile creeping up her throat. She still hadn't come to terms with the situation, how could she admit that it had happened? It felt like something had crept around inside of her, against her will, violating her for its own purposes. How did you explain that to someone? In the end, she picked the easiest option at that moment. "It's classified."

"Oh come on, Shepard. You go-"

"_It's classified._" She flinched involuntarily. Her words had been volatile, so much more..._hostile_ than she intended, she had no idea where they even came from. "I'm Sorry, James, but...just...just don't. Not right now."

She could tell that his curiosity was still burning, but his respect apparently outweighed his need for answers. "You got it, Lola. Let's get it done."


	26. Chapter 26: Dusk

_"Does the death..._bother_ you?"_

Shepard brushed a trickle of blood away from her eye.

It must have come down from her forehead, she rationalized. When she examined it, all she saw was a bit of shine against the black armor of her gloves, so she couldn't tell what color it was. It didn't matter. Not then. It was just a momentary distraction.

It hadn't taken as long as she'd thought for everyone to get over her appearance. Most likely because they were simply too relieved to question it, or so she assumed. In the meantime, Vega had given her a brief sit-rep; the marines and civilians at the landing point, how thoroughly they had cleared the area, and a brief listing of who was left, mostly.

Now, she, Vega, Jacob, Dr. Cole, a scientist whom Cole had identified as Liam, and little Michelle were gathered around the 'body' Shepard had assumed was Harbinger before it deactivated itself. According to Cole, the room that the real Harbinger had emerged from was a data repository of sorts. None of them knew what he'd wanted in there of if he had even gotten it, though the brief gloating he had given Shepard insinuated that whatever his objective had been, Harbinger had succeeded.

"What do you think?" She heard Jacob ask.

She turned the metal over in her hands. It was strong to the touch, and she didn't think she could crush it with her bare hands even if she put biotics into it. It composed a roughly humanoid appearance, insofar as it had recognizable arms and legs, and a head, and a torso. The rest seemed to come from the various devices implanted on the surface in several major spots. Three she didn't recognize, on the upper extremities, one major power battery connected to a holographic generator on the torso, and what she assumed was the central processing unit on the head. Also connected to a device she didn't recognize.

"I think it's high-tech." Shepard stated simply, looking up at Dr. Cole for confirmation. She nodded absently, but seemed to be enthralled mainly by the small discs attached to the hands. "Any idea what those are?"

"I...I think it's some kind of amp." Brynn murmured, taking a closer look and scanning it again with her omni-tool to be sure.

"Wait, _just_ an amp?" Jacob sounded confused. "You still need biotic aptitude for those to do anything, though."

Brynn shrugged. "This is the most advanced technology I've seen in a while. The only thing I can tell about it is that it has _something_ to do with biotics. I'll need more time to perform an in-depth analysis."

"What the _hell_..." Shepard's throat clenched slightly. While she hadn't been initially sure what she was looking at, now it was confirmed. And confusing.

"What?" Vega asked, startled.

"Look at this." Shepard held up the head so that the others could examine it more closely.

"Is that...?" Brynn began.

"Sirta Foundation." Shepard confirmed.

"Okay, the amps I could handle." Jacob said, consternation clear in his tone. "But since when does Sirta manufacture combat-capable exoskeletons?"

"That's not their M.O." Liam spoke up for the first time since Shepard had arrived. He sounded jittery, nervous. Compared to the relatively calm demeanor of everyone else in the room, he seemed to be the only one there reacting in any way normally to what was happening. "Sirta doesn't make weaponry. Of any kind."

"Explain this, then." Shepard told him.

"Sleight of hand." Liam muttered. "Or they just made one part."

"Doesn't really matter now." Vega said. "Finders keepers. I say we take it with us."

"You want to carry this thing all the way back to the drop site?" Shepard asked him dubiously.

"Well not me, obviously." Vega put his hands up. "I'm still good to go, and I gotta save my guys. Maybe Taylor can float it back."

Jacob eyed the marine like he'd just suggested he dance, too. "Picture only having one arm to lift with. That's about what me and my blue friend can manage right now. And that thing is carbon steel, not exactly light."

"Hey, I didn't say I was logistics guy." Vega said defensively. "Just throwing it out there."

"He brings up a good point." Shepard tapped her comm unit. "We need to prioritize. All teams, report in."

Kaidan came back first. "Alpha reporting in."

Vaya quickly followed up. "Security defense, reporting in."

Blerinca's reply was almost as rapid as the fire that could still be heard pinning him down across the line. "Still getting shot at!"

Tactical positioning and mapped imagery floated through Shepard's mind, one at a time, as she attempted to formulate a plan. Her initial impression hinged on a few things, one she wasn't sure about. "Lokkan, what's your status? And be honest."

"Ready an' waiting tae kick some batarian arse, Commander." His voice betrayed some traces of pain, but she needed it clear.

"Vaya?"

Ignoring Lokkan's outraged sputterings of protest, she took up the comm. "Given the severity of his injuries and typical combat positioning, I do not recommend Engineer Lokkan for a position on an assault team."

"All right." Shepard massaged her temples, lapsing into thought. "Garrus, Lokkan, Jacob. Take the civilians back to the pickup field. Send Liara and whatever reinforcements you can muster out of Vega's marines back here."

"I know we're in a hurry, Shepard..." Vega said. "But I notice you put everyone not a hundred percent except you in the return group."

"You're insinuating that I fall under the category of 'not one hundred percent'." It was a statement on Shepard's part, infused with an undertone to not pursue the subject.

Apparently Vega had lost any talent for picking up hints. "Yeah. You took a bad hit. You should sit down at least for a while."

"I 'sat down' for five years, James." Shepard said quietly. "I'm not going to leave anyone down here to the fight over a minor injury."

Vega started to argue again, but Jacob cut him off. "Hey, enough. It's the Commander's choice. 'Sides, you're gonna need the backup."

Vega sighed. "Yeah. Maybe."

Shepard stood up, slinging the exoskeleton over her shoulder with ease. It was fairly heavy, but nothing heavier than what she'd sprinted with before. "I appreciate the concern, James, but I've got a job to do."

They moved up the stairs and through the halls in relative silence, only Jacob's occasional grunting to keep time to their footsteps. Brynn, Michelle and Liam all kept their eyes as closed as they could. Shepard wanted to think that she felt as strongly about the carnage, but she had seen worse. And...the thought seemed so much less callous before she'd thought it.

After the half-dozenth or so sharp intake of breath, however, she felt the need to mention it. "You going to make it, Jacob?"

"I'm good." He nodded. "Legs are working fine, I just gotta remember not to move my arms so much."

"Bet that particle beam didn't tickle." Vega commented.

Jacob chuckled humorlessly. "It's sure making me miss military grade anesthetic right about now."

"Ugh, then we'd have to carry you around while you sing about lollipops or something." Vega shuddered. "I'll take a shot of whiskey over what the Navy calls 'morphine' any day."

"Yeah, sounds about right." Jacob conceded.

Kaidan was the first to greet them at the entrance to the facility; Garrus was securing a perimeter. The spectre looked like he'd just been in a day-long firefight, where only minutes ago he had only visibly been in for an hour. "Commander. Security Chief. Lieutenant." He said, nodding to them all in turn.

"What happened to you, Major?" Shepard asked, looking him up and down.

He thumbed over his shoulder. "I got thrown into a wall. You?"

Shepard shrugged. "The same, really."

Garrus brought the Atlas in close once he'd assured himself that they wouldn't be under sudden attack in the immediate future. Shepard took the moment to load the exoskeleton on to one of the tank's arms for safekeeping. It wasn't as though that would weigh it down.

She saw Garrus tap the glass, then his headset. Shepard understood, and tuned her communications to a private channel.

"I suppose you're going to tell me to be careful?" She asked, offering a humorous edge to set him at ease. They hadn't really had a chance to discuss this before rescuing Dr. Solus (for the second time, she'd been made aware of later), but she concurred with his apparent assessment that then was as good a time to air it as any.

"I wouldn't dare." He responded in kind. "You're _never_ careful." His voice took on a sudden, slightly desperate emotional edge. "But...Shepard...come back. No matter what it takes. I'll get you myself if I have to. Just...come back to me this time."

"I..." Shepard tried to speak, but a catch in her throat stopped the words cold. Back on Earth, she'd had time to consider her actions, their effects, her past, her friends...on the Citadel, before the end, it was practically all she _could_ think about. But that had been after the fact. This part, facing down the possibility beforehand...it was harder by far.

She mentally shook herself. No. This was a mission like any of the other dozen's she'd walked away from. Army or not, Reaper or not, this would still be a story to tell. She meant to be there for the debriefing in person this time.

"I will."

She saw him nod, then he returned to the normal broadcast, addressing the small remainder of what had once been New Damascus. "Attention, please follow the large tank-like mechanism." Garrus called out over their links. Lokkan hopped down from the front door of a nearby building, looking none too pleased at having to go with the 'wounded train'. Jacob's group proceeded in step with the Atlas escort, Michelle in particular giving one last grateful look over her shoulder.

"Ready, Commander?" Kaidan asked, sounding uncertain himself.

Shepard drew her pistol and slid in a new thermal clip. She almost felt like smiling in her confidence, even though only minute before she had been certain that she wouldn't smile for a long time. "Always." _This time, I'm not waking up. Eyes wide open._

* * *

As it turned out, a 'metric long-ass way' was just over half a klick from the living structures. Vaya had downloaded Louis and Ben's locations and signatures and given Shepard's team a waypoint. Vega in particular seemed dumbfounded by whatever series of events had led to their departure.

"Why don't you go over how you two managed to get _that far off_ from the sector we were actually in?" He told them.

"Got lost." Ben supplied unhelpfully.

"Yeah, and chased by a group through half the base." Louis said. "Then some mechs came around and they started shooting at us, too."

"That shouldn't be a problem any longer." Vaya was back to professional, rather than annoyed. "The IFF processors in the security system have your location and are reading you as allies."

"Uh, thanks..." Louis said awkwardly, the effect of his tone still somewhat diminished by the gunfire on his end. "And, ah, sorry about-"

"Not a particularly uncommon error." Vaya said. "Nor one that requires blame. Though, admittedly, your stammering was amusing."

"Ah, c'mon, give him a break." Vega said, chuckling. Then he seemed to remember something and straightened immediately. "Uh, ma'am."

Apparently, Vaya had managed to intimidate him at some point. For whatever reason, Shepard put that under her 'reasons to respect' list without much thought.

Ahead of them, the various homes and stations began to fade away, until they reached the edge of this part of the colony. Forward, Shepard could make out two circular towers that she assumed were the anti-aircraft buildings Ben mentioned. That was where the marines were pinned.

Perhaps more disconcerting was the amount of carnage strewn in front of them. It was a fairly open area between the colony main and the towers, but almost every inch was covered by bodies. Most of them were tall, thin mechs that she recognized (and still hated) in basic design, but she also saw some organic foes strewn across the range.

What concerned Shepard the most wasn't the number of broken mechanical defenses, but the lack of diversity. Any colony that wanted to call their security system more than basic would have had at least a few FENRIS and even YMIR units...or whatever the newest counterpart was. But Shepard could only see LOKI chassis.

Kaidan apparently had the same idea. "Where's all the heavy artillery? Turrets, heavy mechs, anything?"

"They call this an effective defense system?" Vega scoffed. "A few green soldiers could do more damage than these stupid things. I mean, I know they're supposed to be cannon fodder, but what's the point unless you have the cannon?"

"Something's not right." Shepard shook her head. "Vaya, are you reading any of the colony's security defense systems?"

"Affirmative...hm." She sounded surprised. "That is strange. While it appears that the synthetic armada this colony possesses is quite vast, hardly any of them were released when I activated the system. Only the lowest tier."

"We already thought someone was tampering with security." Kaidan pointed out. "This could just be more proof that Harbinger had someone on the inside."

"Whoever they are, they're either dead or missing." That was just Shepard's assumption based on the sheer number of civilian bodies she'd seen. She wouldn't put it past Harbinger to kill his own 'allies', either.

Shepard's movements slowed when she began to make for the wide field. Something didn't feel right to her. She'd learned during the war to trust this instinct, the feeling that something was about to go wrong, but...

A smoke trail wound its way past the side of Shepard's helmet. While she didn't hear the sound of the shot right away, she dove for cover immediately. Her mouth, opened, and she felt more than heard herself yell for the others to do the same. _Then_ she heard gunfire.

"Sniper!" Kaidan shouted back in agreement.

"Anyone see where the shot came from?" Vega asked.

Shepard moved her eyes out from behind the building she'd jumped behind. Wherever the sniper was, they had to be near or on the towers; they were the only structures past the battlefield. Even worse, the jungle planet's signature dense foliage concealed most of what they could make out anyway. The perfect position for a long-ranged engagement.

"The towers." Shepard muttered.

"How quick you figure we can move?" Vega suggested.

Kaidan shook his head. "Not fast enough. One good hit will go right through our shields."

"Our shields, maybe..." Shepard said. "But not a strong enough barrier."

"Do you have a...plan, Commander?" Kaidan sounded apprehensive.

"We can back up a runner with a biotic shield." She explained. "One person at a time, two barriers."

"You sure that'll work?" Vega inquired.

"No." Shepard admitted. "But I'm open for better ideas."

Neither of them responded to that.

"Good." Shepard said. "Vega, get ready."

* * *

Louis was having a bad day.

It wasn't as though he hadn't been shot at before, or pinned behind cover. That was part of the job. But getting tossed out of an exploding ship, getting pinned down in a shanty for days, and then sprinting over a load of bodies while some raging batarians emptied more thermal clips at him than he could shake an omni-tool at had most definitely _not_ been on the Alliance brochure.

Though, neither had the possibility of being killed in action, and yet he'd prepared for that one.

Almost automatically, he moved his pistol around the wall next to the doorway he and Ben were standing behind, and traded a few shots with guy number twenty-four or whatever the name of his next sparring partner was. He might have considered shutting the door after every volley, but it had already been blown off of its hinges some time ago.

Ben spun half of his body out of cover and joined in on the action. Louis was still wondering whether to admire his lack of fear or wonder whether he actually knew how his shields worked. The sniper had been forced by the relatively small entry point to swap to his weak sidearm, so maybe he was just too angry at that turn of events to care.

Ben flinched back when the kinetic barrier directly in front of his face shimmered and completed the motion into a full duck behind the wall. He exhaled and tapped his foot, waiting for the shield to recharge like it was a cup of coffee.

"Any bets on when they're gonna push?" Louis asked, tossing a ball of flaming plasma around the corner. To nobody's great surprise, it hit absolutely nothing.

Ben shook his head. "No bet."

"Oh come on, man, gimmie something, here." Louis said, exasperated. He could never get the guy past his terse, abrupt manner, no matter what he tried. And for the life of him, he still couldn't tell whether it was annoying or endearing.

Ben sighed. "Fine. Heavy's pissed. Probably going to charge. Cut him off?"

Louis shot him a cocky grin that he didn't much care couldn't be seen past the helmet. "I got the tech for that."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he heard someone outside the tower screaming something incoherently. Louis wasn't sure if that person would be ending the fight anytime soon, but _he_ could end _that_ guy in a pinch.

The miniature seismic waves that the batarian's footsteps were producing increased in potency as he approached. Instead of counting the steps, Louis counted the time between the shockwaves bouncing off the ground and into his own soles. At the point of no return, he stuck his arm out and activated his omni-blade.

Searing plasma and a razor edge - the classic melee engineer's mark - erupted into midair. The hapless batarian couldn't stop himself in time to avoid impact, and easily decapitated himself. Fortunately for the sanctity of Louis and Ben's attire, the wound also cauterized instantly, preventing a potentially messy situation. They still had the body, but like Ben said, you couldn't win everything.

Usually.

Which was why seeing their C.O. leap out of the brush and tackle half the group was more than a little surprising.

Vega was, at that moment, big, sprinting, and lit up like a blue christmas tree. He didn't look like the typical cavalry in that there was only one of him and he could only clothesline two out of the five remaining in the enemy squad. That did, however, put the battle at even odds. With nearly instinctive rapport, both Louis and Ben ducked out from behind the walls again and opened fire. Ben had better aim, so his target dropped first. Vega didn't bother to draw his rifle, instead opting to leave his engagement at fisticuffs. With all the muscle he put behind his fists, it worked particularly well.

"Ben, get out here!" Vega shouted over the fracas. "I need you countersniping!"

Ben summarily holstered his pistol and rolled forward. When he landed upright and kneeling, he took out his favorite rifle and squinted down the scope at a sixty-odd degree angle, straight at the upper levels of the tower across from theirs.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a batarian that Vega had knocked down aim his firearm at him. Ben wouldn't have been able to turn around quickly enough to get a shot off, but perhaps if he dodged...

He didn't get the chance to act; the second individual part of their reinforcements arrived, announcing her presence with a hostile barrier that shot up around the would-be shooter, containing him in an enclosed, solid blue field. His hide saved for the moment, Ben looked back down the scope. By sheer chance, he saw a brief muzzle flash and adjusted his aim further upward. His finger brushed the trigger, and he heard as well as felt the familiar motions and noises that came with a successful shot.

He waited, counting seconds upon seconds for a reaction insinuating that he'd missed. Nothing. That flash before fire had been the enemy sniper's last act, if one didn't count breathing. Ben looked around again. Louis, Vega, and whoever that N7 operative was had made very short work of the squad formerly known as suppressors.

One last friendly, a man in blue armor who they remembered from the Outskirts, rushed to the center of the clearing just a little too late. Everyone stopped to catch their breath. Louis was the first to speak up. "So, funny thing, it seemed like there was a lot more of them when they were shooting at us."

"It doesn't take a whole lot to pin you down, just a whole lot to kill you." Vega said.

"There were only seven of them." Ben told him.

Vega looked around at the bodies, then up at the sniper's perch, clearly counting it out mentally. "...Yeah, okay, that's pretty embarrassing."

"Any firefight with no friendly deaths is a win." The N7 woman said.

"'S one way to look at it, I guess." Louis admitted. "Thanks for the assist, boss, Major...and, uh...?" He waited for the other two to introduce themselves.

Vega tensed up, like he was trying to give them a nonverbal order. WHat it was, though, Louis had no idea. "Commander Shepard." The woman said.

There was a fairly dramatic silence from both of them, though Ben's posture slowly rose to a bemused salute.

"You're dead." Louis said stupidly.

Ben smacked Louis across the back of the helmet with the hand that he wasn't saluting with. "Remember who you're talking to, Private."

"Right." Louis nodded. "You're dead..._ma'am_."

"So I've been told." Shepard said. "It didn't take."

Kaidan tapped his headset while Louis and Ben were busy trying to get over their combined shock. "Corporal Vaya, this is Alenko. The towers are clear. Is there any way you can activate them and destroy the ships in orbit?"

"Negative..." Vaya sounded as though she was manipulating the defense systems while they were speaking, and that this action required no small amount of concentration. "It appears that I am locked out from that section of the grid. I believe that this is also a result of tampering. You will need to activate them manually."

"Any suggestions on how to aim past the foliage?" Kaidan asked.

"Based on these schematics, the towers operate on a very powerful three-dimensional imaging scan projected around the planet from the colony. Or," She went on. "They possess a satellite which projects a video feed to a central control console."

"I think the first option is the best one." Kaidan said. "The signal jammer might prevent the satellite from working properly."

"My thoughts precisely." Vaya said. "I hope you've kept up to date on the latest intrusion techniques. The lockout of this system is fairly complete, and I will be unable to help you commandeer either tower."

"We'll do our best from here." Kaidan said, shutting off his end of the conversation.

"News?" Shepard asked.

"We need to activate and reconfigure the towers," Kaidan explained. "But without initiation codes or authorization."

"Sounds like a hacking job." Vega supplied.

Louis looked up, snapping out of his thoughts. "Hacking? Finally, something I can do nice 'n easy!"

"Get to it, private." Vega said, waving him off. Louis dashed into the tower behind them immediately.

"We should probably do intro." Vega cleared his throat and indicated Ben. "Commander Shepard, Lance Corporal Beniamin Blerinca, long-ranged support."

"Pleasure, Corporal." Shepard said, taking his hand firmly.

"Honor's mine, ma'am." Vega thought idly that Ben was really pulling out the long sentences that day. He usually kept it to one word or less, so the inter-personnel running joke went.

"The hyper gerbil you just saw running into the tower's PFC Lewis Louis, technical troubleshooter." Vega pointed at where Louis had just been. "Or...wait, is it 'Louis Lewis'? They're pronounced the same, so everyone just calls him Louis, or Lou."

"Technical troubleshooting, hm?" Shepard wasn't entirely surprised. His manner seemed perfectly suited to following along with fast bits of data. Or connecting similar streams and plugs. She wondered if those logic-puzzle security systems were still in vogue.

"Yeah, well, _we're_ the ones who actually _shoot_ trouble." Vega indicated himself and Ben. "But that's the term."

There was a noise of jubilation from inside the tower. Louis strolled out, checking a series of data lines on his omni-tool. "Yep," He said. "We're in business. They open in sync, so I gotta work on number two, but the system isn't as hard as I thought it'd be. I'd get inside, though. From what the procedures said, this is gonna be _loud_."

"You stopped to read the instruction manual?" Vega asked.

"Well, yeah, it's not like I've done this before." Louis said before moving toward the second tower, humming cheerfully.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" Vega turned to look at the others.

"He doesn't know what he's doing." Ben grumbled.

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too." Vega sighed.

"Well, I haven't read the instruction manual, so I'll take his advice." Kaidan said. They all followed Louis into the second tower, closing the door behind them.

"Now, from what I gather..." Louis informed them, tapping away on the central console. "These ground level rooms are soundproofed. We'll feel it, but we shouldn't hear too much of the fire."

"'From what I gather'." Ben quoted, his tone ash-dry. "'Shouldn't'."

"If you want to stand out in the sunshine, Ben, be my guest." Louis grumbled.

He adjusted the last few controls, and held up his hand, lowering one finger after another. Shepard grabbed a nearby section of wall to be safe, and he activated the towers. "Now, I primed the targeting centers right," He said. "So all we have to do is- woah!"

No sooner had the words come out of his mouth than the entire room shook like it was in the center of an earthquake. True to his word, the actual sounds of anti-aircraft fire were significantly muted, but the backlash most certainly was _not_.

It only took a short time for the feeling to subside, after which the five of them stood their ground nervously, quite ready for another blast but feeling nothing. "Is...that all?" Vega asked aloud.

"I hope so, with power like that." Kaidan murmured. "It should have only taken two shots to level a vessel, even in orbit and heavily armored."

"Normandy to ground team, come in ground team." Shepard was relieved to hear Joker's voice, and responded immediately.

"We're here, Joker. What's going on up there?"

Louis brought up a holographic image from the satellite, showing them the footage of a massive dreadnought falling in flames to the surface of Eros. At the same time, Joker filled them in from his perspective. "One of the ships jumped through the relay. I think you might have scared it off. The other one exploded, and EDI says the jamming just...cleared up."

"The other ship left the system?" This revelation left a bitter taste in Shepard's mouth.

"Uh, yeah." Joker asked a background question before returning to the forefront of the conversation. "Why, should we have chased it?"

"Maybe not." Shepard exhaled slowly. "But I'm almost positive that Harbinger was aboard."

"So we lost him again." Kaidan summarized. He shook his head. Shepard shared his sentiment.

And when Liara finally arrived, it was to see the image within the tower, of a ship crashing like a glorious beacon, and five victorious soldiers who hadn't really won anything that day.

**[Author's Note: For the rest of however long it takes me, rather than working on Chapter 27, I will be going back through my archives and making adjustments. Only one major change will be implemented (a gap of five years instead of ten between ME3 and ATF), and I use 'major' loosely, as it won't change any story elements. Other than that, I'll be adding things that are necessary, removing things that aren't, and generally polishing up what needs to be polished. I hope for a more comprehensive story by the time I'm finished.**

**For those of you who have been reading for a while, these changes won't mean you'll have to go back and read it again unless you want to. The story isn't being retconned beyond the above, so the gist you've gotten is the gist you keep.]**


	27. Chapter 27: End of Part One

**[Author's Note: There's been a minor update to the very end of this chapter. If you're interested in knowing what happens to the crew of the Normandy next, directions are below. Hope to see you there!]**

_"That's not much."_

_"It's enough."_

"Commander?"

Shepard glanced up. She'd been engrossed, staring into the exoskeleton like it was an interesting advertisement. The med bay wasn't as filled as it had been in her more recent experiences, but with the addition of the half dozen or so wounded and unconscious patients from the mission, as well as the metal shell and a batarian body, it still felt crowded. Chakwas was alternating between running scans on the latter and flashing Shepard severe looks. She supposed she deserved at least part of that. She also hoped her new injuries didn't put her beyond repair. It was unlikely be possible.

She turned her gaze to look at Vega, who was leaning against the wall across from her, on the other side of the exam table. He'd been at the debrief with the others, but had insisted on coming with her to hear the prognosis. Which one, he hadn't specified.

Shepard frowned. "Sorry, didn't catch that."

"You think maybe we can trace Harbinger with this?" He repeated.

She shrugged. "I don't know for sure. I doubt we'll get anything but suspicion if we bring this up with Sirta directly, but I wouldn't know how to start with a trace. Hell, we didn't even know this existed until a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, we did." Jacob walked into the room with his omni-tool alight, reading a passage off of the extranet. "Turns out, Sirta was running a prosthesis project a while back. Real advanced stuff. But they got shut down when a terrorist group stole a shipment. Used a couple of crazy supersoldiers to mow down a hospital in '89."

"What does that tell us?" Shepard asked.

"Mostly it just confirms what we already know." He closed the omni-tool. "I'm willing to bet Cerberus robbed that shipment, but if I know them, they already removed any tracers it might've had on it. But, Sirta might still have files on the suit's capabilities. The more you know, right?"

"Can you get those files?"

Jacob nodded his head back to where he'd come from. "Liam contracts out to Sirta, I've already got him on it."

"Great." Shepard held back a sigh and turned around. "Anything, Doctor?"

"The good news is, he's not a person, exactly." Chakwas moved the seals around the batarian's helmet. "I detected quite a few nonexistent systems and modifications. Small things, such as missing hearts, three lungs..."

The helmet came off, and Shepard grimaced. It looked as though Cerberus had used their modified soldiers principle on some batarians. The thing in front of them looked halfway turned into a Cannibal.

"And all of them were like this?" Jacob sounded disgusted. "Where did they even find enough of them?"

"No one blinks if pirates take a ship or two in the Traverse, even in modern times." Chakwas explained. "Especially not the Hegemony. They've got enough to be worrying about as it is."

Shepard felt a twinge of pity for them. She recognized fully the implications of batarian space being conquered so readily. As if their bad press wasn't already enough. She may have fought off their assault on Elysium, but it would be naive to think of them as the only bogeymen of space. _Jerks and saints, just like us,_ She thought.

"This doesn't make up the full part of their crew, either." Vega said. "Vaya told us that Harbinger was ordering around a couple of stooges who sounded like they had some self-control. Maybe they kept around field commanders to put the robots in line."

"Well, whatever the case, we're not going to get many more answers here." Garrus piped up from his cot in the corner. "But it looks like we're in the dark again. At the least, we should make sure we have the full team aboard. How long until we get to the Citadel?"

"Three hours." EDI replied.

"Perfect." Garrus groaned. "Wake me when we dock."

"Shepard, if I could see you outside a moment?" Chakwas' words weren't a question so much as an order.

Shepard nodded, and the other three gave her sympathetic looks. They stepped outside the med bay, and Shepard noted briefly that the door leading into the gunnery station appeared to be locked. She'd wanted to talk to Lokkan about what had happened much like she'd spoken to Jacob and Vega when they'd arrived, but now felt that it would be disrespectful. She could wait until he was ready.

"Doctor, I-" Shepard began.

Chakwas held up a hand. "Don't overconcern yourself, Commander. I know full well you're unabashed at the moment. I can't say that I'm not disappointed, but honestly, this was expected. You're not at your peak, but I can't very well confine you when so much is happening, can I?"

"So that means I can officially return to ground team rotation?' Shepard asked.

"Goodness, no." Chakwas said. "I can't condone that in the slightest as a medical professional. I just won't be very surprised when you ignore it in favor of charging off."

Shepard smiled a bit. "Thanks, Doctor."

"Whatever for?" Chakwas winked and went back into the bay.

Shepard, for her part, elected to return to the CIC and kill time until another crisis arose. When she stepped out of the elevator, she remembered a question she'd needed to ask, but had forgotten up until that point.

"Traynor." She said, alerting the Specialist to her presence.

"Commander." Traynor nodded without taking her eyes completely off of the systems she was monitoring. "Something you need?"

"I'm curious, actually." Shepard paused, wondering how to phrase it. "What are you doing here?"

"There's really no ship I'd rather serve on." Traynor said. "But if you mean how I got here, Kaidan called me, oddly enough. In preparation for this mission, or so I assume."

"And everyone else?"

"Joker was already here, but to the best of my knowledge Adams, Daniels, Donnelly, Cortez and Chakwas all got the same message. There were others, I assume, but we were the only ones who came along."

"Well, I appreciate it. What have you been up to before now?"

"Sadly, not very much. My time planetside has been terribly dull, especially without the constant threat of death." She smiled. "Speaking of, would you like me to patch you to Admiral Norran?"

Shepard was mildly surprised, mostly because she'd almost forgotten why she had been at New Damascus in the first place. But she nodded. "Patch her through."

"Shepard." Norran said formally. "I trust everything went well?"

Shepard tried to keep her throat from tightening. "Not...exactly. The facility was compromised, and we were only able to evacuate a few civilians. The rest...didn't make it."

"I see." Norran's voice was heavy. "Who was responsible? Do you know?"

"Cerberus." Shepard said. "Their ringleader escaped."

"Their...ringleader, yes." Norran sounded wary, then. "Harbinger, correct? Major Alenko mentioned that he'd changed sides."

"I don't think he was ever on ours, Admiral."

"Mm. Do you have any leads?"

Shepard shook her head. "No. But I'll keep you up to date."

"Godspeed, Shepard. This cannot happen again. Norran out."

* * *

The arrival of the Normandy on the Citadel was preceded by much waiting around. A group of five was clustered around the viewport, each one attempting their own ways to pass the time. One, a synthetic, had enough raw patience to last several lifetimes, and so stood still. Another, separate enough from the others to remain undisturbed, kept readjusting his hood. The slimmest and largest figured were engaged in quiet conversation, and the last merely looked on, counting the seconds.

It was a relief to all of them, then, when the ship in question finally docked. However, the flood was equally unexpected. Six marines and as many wounded on cots were carried and walked out of the airlock, right past the welcoming party. Behind them was a group that numbered as many as those who were already there.

Tali stepped over, alternating glances between the dozen people in a hurry and Shepard. "Business as usual?" She asked.

Shepard nodded. Behind her, a dark-skinned man and an Alliance marine built like a wall rose their hands in greeting. Tali returned the gesture with a nod of her own. "Let's just say there were difficulties."

Beside her, Kaidan's eyes fixed on the hooded man. He showed no indication of hostility, but Tali had grown up where reading body language was a necessity. The Spectre was wary. Shepard leaned to the side and did a mental head count, then frowned. "Where are Renar and Davisson?"

"They're...in jail."

Shepard's eyebrows rose. "Come again?"

"Davisson's in for Arson, Murder, and resisting arrest." Tali went on quickly. "Renar for murder, too. ...Of an officer."

"What. The hell." Shepard said blankly.

Tali channeled her best 'it gets worse' tone. "The rest of us would have been taken in, too, but I pulled diplomatic immunity and Kerrin works for Wrex. Deshayla and Jeddah managed to get off charges thanks to that, too. Crazz sort of...wasn't there. But we couldn't get the other two released. It looks bad."

Shepard put a hand over her face. "Tali, please tell me that the charges are false."

"Er," Tali hesitated. "Actually, it's completely true. Just not in the right context. Davisson and I wiped out the faculty of a terrorist hideout and then _they _activated bombs, not us."

"And the resisting arrest?" Shepard asked.

"He tackled a C-Sec officer during our shootout in the diner." Tali went on past Kaidan's exclamation of 'what?!'. "But it probably saved his life."

"Uh-huh." Shepard sighed. "And Renar?"

"From what he told us, he and Crazz took down three big-name criminals and their henchmen, and the dead officer was A as dirty as they come and B not killed by them, but some hidden sniper." Tali explained.

Shepard nodded. "I see." She turned to look at the hooded man at the back of the group. "Crazz?"

He nodded and took a step forward, offering his hand. That she couldn't see his face was slightly unnerving to Shepard, but he seemed cordial enough. "Bob Crazz."

"Commander Shepard." They exchanged a handshake. She allowed herself a small smile. "And yes. I'm dead. I know."

"Well Heaven's Gate doesn't hold a legend for long." He said simply. "Do you suppose freeing them is feasible? I owe Renar for his intervention on my behalf."

"We'll see what we can do." Shepard looked behind her. A sixth part of the entourage, a woman, sidled up behind the girl next to Jacob. "Jacob, I imagine you want to see to their people. You remember where the hospital is?"

Jacob nodded thankfully. "Yeah. C'mon." He motioned for his family to follow, and they disappeared down a corridor.

"I should...probably go, too." Vega said. "Toss in my report, maybe head back to base. But Shepard...thanks. You too, Kaidan."

"Don't mention it, James." Shepard told him. "Stay safe. Everyone else," She turned to address the others. "Feel free to get settled on the Normandy. Tali, Bob, mind coming with me?"

"Not at all." Bob said. Tali shook her head in assent.

"But go over that shootout." Shepard said as the five of them (Jeddah and Kaidan fell into step) made their way to the elevator.

"It's surreal, actually." Tali explained. "We'd all just gotten back and were at the dock, and decided to go to this diner in the wards. We were attacked halfway through lunch by a combination of thugs, assassins, terrorists, and C-Sec. I think...there were twenty-two in all?"

"Hmm." Shepard nodded slowly. "And how many seconds did the fight take?"

"Fifty seven, I was impressed." Tali chuckled. "The thugs in particular were resilient."

"Most of the Citadel Security force ended up unconscious." Bob elaborated. "After they attempted opening fire on _us_. The last two were quite brave to make arrests. Though, obviously, Renar and Mr. Davisson were semi-willing."

"And you?" Shepard asked.

"I made a tactical withdrawal when the last hostile body hit the floor, as it were."

The elevator stopped on the main floor of C-Sec headquarters. One officer spared them a glance, then a triple-take. She looked familiar.

"Officer Vanno." Shepard said.

"Commander Shepard." Vanno replied smoothly. "I appreciate the delivery." She indicated Bob.

"Not quite." Shepard crossed her arms. "I'd like my people back."

Vanno sighed. "Then you're going to have to step into my office." Her office, a short ways from the wards access corridors, was roughly half the size of Shepard's cabin, and there weren't an overabundance of seats. Fortunately, Jeddah didn't need to sit and Bob elected to lean against a wall.

"Right." Vanno exhaled slowly, apparently gathering her resolve. "Now...what's all this?"

"Evidence, officer." Tali supplied politely. "We have it in hand that the detainees and Crazz are not in fact guilty of the charges you wanted to arrest them...ah, and us...over."

Vanno perked a brow. "You have my attention."

"When Davisson left Dr. Michel's clinic, I hacked into his omni-tool and set it to record ambient conversations to mine. I may have simply forgotten to turn that function off. Everything afterwards is on here." She tapped her left hand. "And here." She held up an OSD, which she handed to Vanno.

"I did something similar with Renar's omni-tool." Bob spoke up. "I may not have an OSD but..." He opened a recording, which broadcasted around the room.

"Excuse me..."

"Yeah, something I can do for you, uh...citizen?"

"Does an officer Jelanis work here?"

"Madak Jelanis, that's me."

"Well, good. I'd like to...report a crime."

"You want to report a crime...to me, specifically?"

"Yes. That is, it's just a little something I need...taken care of."

"And what makes you think I'd know anything about that? I should report you."

"I don't think our mutual friends would like that. Think of it as an opportunity from our...employer."

"Humor me, then. Who is this employer?"

"Say his name, here? I'm not as dumb as you think."

"That remains to be seen. Come with me."

"You idiot. Contacting me inside C-Sec? Don't they teach you rookies anything?"

"Not every situation allows for subtlety. I had to find you right away."

"Don't get smart with me. Nothing's important enough to risk blowing my cover."

"What did you want, anyways?"

"That's easy, 'officer'..."

It shut off. "Cameras will also show that while a confrontation ensued, neither I nor Renar fired a killing shot. That distinction belongs with an unknown assailant." Bob said calmly.

"Interesting." Vanno pondered the information for a time. "This is going to take some consideration..."

"Good." Shepard said. "While C-Sec considers, I'll be taking Renar, Crazz, and Davisson into custody."

Vanno blinked. "You-"

"Actually, we _can_ do that." Kaidan said. "Shepard and I are both Council Spectres. We have rights to take criminals into our own custody."

"And if, while they're with us, it turns out they aren't guilty..." Shepard shrugged.

Vanno pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, sounds about right. My boss is going to eat me alive, though."

"Tell him to talk to me if he wants to bring anything up." Shepard smiled.

"Before you go, I'll need a copy of that." Vanno pointed at Bob. He nodded and pulled out an OSD from one of his pockets. After a few moments, it was ready and passed. Vanno then shrugged. "Cells are just past rapid transit. Block B. I'll call ahead."

* * *

Renar woke silently.

His sense of touch was the first part of him to awaken fully. It informed him that he was still prone, draped across a small, uncomfortable cot. His memory caught up quickly. He remembered a shootout, he'd taken a punch from someone...it hadn't done much for his previous injuries. Everything else was a blur. He definitely recalled C-Sec at some point. Just before he'd gone to sleep, his surroundings had been vaguely reminiscent of a cell.

He opened his eyes. Sure enough, he was in holding. There was a door and a window. Not much else. He tried to sit up, and succeeded, for the most part, but he was still hurting. To his right, a silhouette of a man leaning against a wall near the corner. His face turned towards Renar, and became recognizable as Empyreus' friend, Darwin.

"You all right?" Dace asked him.

Renar shook his head. "I'll be fine. Where are the others?"

"Better creds." Dalton chuckled. "Or hitting the road, in the case of your buddy. Worked out better for them than us."

That news shook Renar slightly. Bob had fled? So much for new allies, he supposed. But he decided to air a more obvious concern. "When are we getting out?"

"Either when Shepard gets here or never." Darrin said. "When you knocked off that prick, Jelanis..."

"We didn't kill him." Renar said heatedly.

"Doesn't matter what happened, just what they think." Durwood went on. "They took it pretty seriously."

"What about you?" Renar asked.

Darryl shrugged. "Think I'm in for quantity, not quality. Maybe as long as you, maybe less."

Renar fell back onto the cot. It struck him that while he could infer certain things about his current state of affairs from experience, this particular situation was new to him. Apparently, Dawson had caught on to that fact. "First time in the slammer, huh?"

Renar eyed him carefully. "It isn't yours?"

Decker almost laughed. "Why no. I'm a model citizen, of course."

"Of course."

The rest of their wait was in silence, but Dennis' prediction was spot on. Within twenty minutes, a small crowd walked past the clear window, and they heard the sound of conversation on the other side. The door slid open, and Commander Shepard regarded them dispassionately. "Well," She said. "Don't stand around forever."

"Much obliged, Commander." Derrick stepped out of the cell, grinning. Renar followed after, and was surprised to see Bob among the crew assembled. His hood was back to covering the entirety of his face, but that only served to make him more distinctive.

"Congratulations, kid." He clapped a hand on Renar's shoulder. 'You're technically a free man."

"Technically?" Renar asked.

"Yes, technically." Shepard said. "And we are technically going back to the ship."

"So that you can technically regale us with your exploits." Dexter said.

Renar noticed that no one seemed to be implying or stating that Bob _wouldn't_ accompany them. "We need to have a...brief conversation." He said, motioning Bob down the hall.

Once they were out of hearing distance, he lowered his voice to a murmur. "Does Shepard know?"

"I didn't tell her." Bob said.

"If you don't...and she finds out?" Renar let the question hang a moment. "You didn't seem to have a problem in telling me about it."

"Fair points, but I'm not in a hurry to see her reaction."

"You won't know until you try." Renar folded his arms, not intending to back down.

Bob stared at Renar for some time before speaking. "How badly do you want me with you, exactly?"

"It isn't about me." Renar said, perhaps a little too hastily. "Our mission is of critical importance. And with your abilities, you can settle for more than sitting in Chora's Den."

Bob mulled it over. "This mission...what is it, exactly?"

"For that, you'll have to ask Shepard."

They locked eyes. But Renar was already thinking _Game, set, match._

"Hmh." Bob nodded. "All right, kid, you have my interest. But I'll need to ask you a favor...if she decides to shoot first and ask questions later, I need you to cover me."

"You can dodge bullets." Renar pointed out caustically.

"She's Commander Shepard." Bob shot back.

Another locking of eyes, another match of wills.

"...Fine." Renar relented, silently hoping that Shepard was not, in fact, the type to shoot first and ask questions later. They rejoined the group soon after, and Renar waved the Commander over.

"Need something, Lieutenant?" She asked rhetorically.

"Yes." Renar's nervousness was already beginning to show thought, so he rushed. "We should clear the air before moving along..." He motioned behind him.

Without the slightest bit of pretense, Bob dropped his hood. In the half-second that followed, Renar could _see_ every iota of information work its way from her eyes, to her brain, to her hands. He could almost feel her pulse quicken, though the sounds of her breathing were dampened by the sound of her pistol being drawn...but not fired.

"I'm having an off day." She said through gritted teeth. "Explain this one to me."

"He's ex-Cerberus..." Renar began to explain.

"You're not making me feel any better, Renar." She muttered.

"Ex-agent in question would like to speak for himself, Commander." Bob's posture was relaxed, unconcerned. "If I may resort to shorthand, I left to clean up their mistakes. One bad run too many allowed me to see the light, so to speak. If whatever you are doing is even marginally greater a task than minute investigations here, which I hazard a guess is a correct assumption, I want to be a part of it."

"Did you 'see the light' before or after the operation?" Tali, too, had drawn a sidearm.

Bob spared her a glance. "I chose the modifications. My problem comes when others are not given such a choice."

Dmitri, who had no weapon, though not by his own will, cocked his head to one side. "...Wait a minute. Were you on Baak?"

Bob looked mildly surprised. "Yes. The site of my epiphany, as it were. I assume you were my assailants, then?"

"So I gather." Tali said. "You look different when you're not in motion."

"Well since everyone knows him but me..." Shepard looked between Tali and Dominic.

"Well, he didn't try his damndest to kill us, so that's a point." Dolan said. "Cheeky S.O.B., though."

Bob shrugged. "Guilty."

Slowly, Shepard lowered the barrel of his pistol, though Renar noted that she kept it aimed at Bob's kneecap. "God knows we could use more support. But we'll have to keep you under guard."

"I understand." Bob said calmly.

Shepard shook her head. "Tali, Davisson. Escort him back to the ship. Pick up your impounded weapons, too."

Renar realized a little too late that this left him and Shepard alone. She eyed him with a steely gaze of disapproval. "I don't appreciate you springing me on this so suddenly, Lieutenant."

"I..." Renar faltered. "Yes, Commander. It won't-"

"But if he turns out to be as useful as you apparently think he is, we'll end up having a much different conversation." She moved her head to indicate the direction of the docking bay elevator. "I'll see you back on the ship."

As the turian strode off, she opened her omni-tool, which had been silently alerting her to a new message for the past five minutes. It was untraceable, with no address.

_Shepard -_

_I'm sorry that I couldn't talk to you directly, but you're on the bloody Citadel. As soon as possible, get back to the Normandy. Not only have I located another base, but it seems to be host to more Reaper forces than normal...and a Collector. I'll send the coordinates to Joker momentarily. Look forward to seeing you there._

_-M_

Shepard stood, staring at the words, for an eternal minute. A crackle preceded a voice over her comm unit. "Uhhh, Commander?"

"I got the message, Joker." She turned, and began tracing the path back to her ship. "I'm on the way."

They had a heading.

**[EDIT: As of right now, the next part in the saga is officially up on this site. Apparently placing links in-story is a pain in the ass, so just hit up my profile if you're interested.]**


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